LITTLE-RIVER ACADEMY — The Thrall Tigers varsity baseball team came up short in a 9-8 shootout against Little River Academy on Tuesday, April 22.
The Tigers quickly fell behind, trailing 5-0 after the first two innings — a deficit that ultimately proved too much to overcome.
Little River Academy jumped out to a fast start, scoring four runs in the bottom of the first inning. The Bumblebees loaded the bases with two singles and a walk before plating two runs on a single, followed by an RBI single and a sacrifice fly to make it 4-0.
The Tigers were held scoreless in the top of the second, and Little River Academy tacked on another run in the bottom half with a sacrifice fly following a leadoff triple.
Thrall got on the board in the top of the third, cutting the lead to 5-2 with a walk and a sacrifice fly. However, the Bumblebees answered in the bottom half with a solo home run and a run scored on a hit-by-pitch to extend their lead to 7-2.
The Tigers continued to battle back. Senior Maverick McAllister drove in two runs with a double in the top of the fourth, narrowing the gap to 7-4. Thrall then retired the side in order in the bottom half and added another run in the fifth on an error to make it 7-5.
Little River Academy responded with a tworun double in the bottom of the fifth to push its lead to 9-5. Thrall rallied again in the top of the sixth as McAllister and sophomore Weston Smiley each delivered RBI singles to bring the Tigers within one, 9-8. However, the comeback fell just short as the Bumblebees held on in the seventh.
McAllister led the Tigers at the plate, going 2-for-4 with three RBIs. Junior Bryce Brinkmeyer took the loss on the mound, allowing seven runs over 2.2 innings. Smiley and senior Ty Matthews pitched in relief.
Thrall dropped to 7-4 in district play and will look to bounce back in a rematch against Little River Academy on Friday, April 25.
Thrall Tigers senior Maverick McAllister makes a throw to first base in a 2-0 victory over Rockdale during a regular season game. Photo by Steve Doak
