Mustangs’ work at tourney helps them for district
The Marble Falls High School baseball team arrived at the Blanco Tournament March 12 with an agenda that went beyond winning. But make no mistake — winning was at the top.
The Mustangs (4-4) defeated Texas Military Institute 4-1 and lost to Blanco 4-1 in a rematch after the Panthers shut out Marble Falls 12-0 a week earlier.
Marble Falls head coach Tyler Porter noted his players hadn’t played a game since their 5-4 victory against Fredericksburg March 5. Then Mother Nature forced Blanco Tournament officials to shorten the Mustangs’ four games to two, so Porter’s to-do list included installing different athletes in multiple situations in order to prepare them for District 25-5A play.
The position he was very interested in evaluating were pitchers.
“Everyone threw 30 pitches, which is about two innings,” he said. “We used six pitchers. It was really good for them. They got work, which was good for them. They had a chance to have success. Everyone threw pretty well.”
Pitchers Kyle Curtis, Evan Nickowski and Cale Cochran threw during the win against TMI. Curtis had two strikeouts, while Nickowski had one.
Marble Falls exploded for a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Nickowski helped the Mustangs’ offensive efforts with 2 RBIs, while Isaias Roman added one. Each had a hit.
Against Blanco, the Mustangs took a 1-0 advantage in the first inning thanks to Cochran’s RBI. But the Panthers responded by scoring two runs in the second and in the third innings. Marble Falls pitcher Bryce Atkinson had three strikeouts, while Jake Becker had two, and Brady Elwartowski finished with one.
Porter pointed out he wants to see the Mustang bats come alive and believes they will based on past history. Returners have produced since being on the team and newcomers have shown the ability to come through, too, he added.
“Offensively we didn’t do what we needed,” he said. “We did a good job on that last weekend, and it’s a good thing going into district. It’s still a learning process. Cale Cochran hit .304 during the day. He’s coming along. We’ll get them where they need to be.”
Porter said the Mustangs’ defensive performances where no errors occurred and pitchers didn’t issue a walk are positives headed into district play.
“The big thing was to have the pitchers saddled up for district,” he said. “Everyone should have left the games feeling confident.”
Marble Falls begins district play by hosting Cedar Park at 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 16, at Scearce Field, 2101 Mustang Drive, and will travel to play at Georgetown, 2211 N. Austin Ave., at 7 p.m. Thursday, March 17,
“We’re playing two really good district teams,” Porter said. “We’d love to have a good crowd.”
