Mental toughness.
Salado Eagles -- and junior pitcher Casey Frazier -- showed that after committing mental errors that allowed two runs to score in the fourth inning of their Region III semifinal win over the Elkhart Elks in Houston tonight.
Eagles will play a one game series at 2 p.m. tomorrow (Sat., May 25) here in Franklin in the Region III Semifinals of the 2A baseball playoffs.
Tonight's game was called at 8:45 p.m. against the Elkhart Elks due to lightning and heavy rains.
Salado will face Elkhart in the Regional Semifinals of 2A baseball playoffs after escaping a scrappy Centerville squad this weekend. Salado won the series against Centerville in three: 3-4, 4-0 and 7-5 in extra innings.
With two outs in the seventh inning and Salado's Britton Hawes pitching in relief, Centerville rallied for two runs to win the first game of the best-of-three series May 17 at A&M Consolidated High School in College Station.
The Eagles scored the go-ahead run in the top of the seventh after Cole Haag went to first base on a walk. He advanced on a sacrifice bunt by Marshall Mann and moved to third when Basham reached second on a fielding error by Centerville second baseman Haden Nash. Mann scored on a passed ball before the Tigers got out of the inning with two runners in scoring position.
The Tigers answered after Hawes retired Wacy Brown and Haden Nash with just seven pitches. He struck out Brown and forced Nash to ground out to second baseman Caden Eary. Ryan Payne took Hawes' 2-1 pitch and knocked it for a double. Cade Harris fought from behind the pitcher for a full count walk to put runners at first and second. Both runners advanced on a wild pitch and Jordan Cannon knocked a full-count pitch to right field to drive in the winning runs.
Salado had 7 hits in the game but left 11 on base. Meanwhile, Centerville had five hits in the game, only one for more than a single.
Davis Little led Salado in batting, going 2-for-4 with an empty base single and an empty base double. Also getting hits were Mann, 1-for-4 with an RBI single and a sacrifice bunt; Trey Mohler, Jon Franz, Casey Frazier and Cole Haag all with singles.
Hawes was issued the loss, coming in to pitch with runners at second and third in the fifth inning. Centerville converted the scoring opportunity into two runs with an RBI groundout nby Cade Harris on a 3-0 pitch. Wacy Brown scored on a wild pitch during Harris' at bat and Nash scored on the grounder to Salado's second baseman Eary.
Salado will face the 21-6-2 Centerville Tigers, winners of District 24AA, in the Regional Quaterfinals of the baseball playoffs May 17-18 with the best-of-three series to be played at A&M Consolidated ballfields.
The first game will be played at 7:30 p.m. May 17 with Game 2 at 2 p.m. May 18. If a third game is necessary, it will be played 30 minutes after Game 2.
Salado Eagles took home four silver medals from the UIL 2A State Tack Meet May 10-11 at Myer Stadium in Austin.
Rachel Hildebrand took the silver medal in girls shot put in 2A division of the UIL State Track Meet with a mark of 40-06.25.
Salado senior Bryce Martin took fourth place in the UIL State 2A pole vault here at Mike Myers Stadium with a vault of 14' 6".
