Faith Academy baseball loses to Houston St. Francis

CAPTION: Faith Academy’s Seth Jones hit a RBI to bring in a score during the loss to Houston St. Francis. Photo by Stennis Shotts

The Faith Academy of Marble Falls baseball team lost to Houston St. Francis Episcopal 7-2 April 23 to end its season.

The Flames finished fourth in Division IV, District 3 of the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools.

Faith head coach Rob Ellis noted the contest was 4-2 until the sixth inning.

“It was touch and go until the very end,” he said. “We had a lot of people in the stands. We traveled well. It wasn’t us going there and getting blown out.”

Senior pitcher Nash Renfro hit a RBI single to score senior Cross Sanchez in the first inning.

In the fifth inning, Renfro hit a single to reach first base. Freshman Cooper Hansard was the courtesy runner and scored on a double by senior Seth Jones.

The coach noted Nash, who has been injured, gave all he had.

“He gutted out a tough performance,” he said.

The Flames had 8 hits to St. Francis’ 7 with very few errors.

The key stat, the coach said, were the number Flames stranded on base – 12.

“They had timely hitting, and we did not,” he said. “We popped up and didn’t hit in the important spots, and they did. When it mattered, they got the ball in play. When it mattered, they got a hit.”

St. Francis reminded Ellis of district foe Bryan Brazos Christian.

“They have good hitters in the lineup,” Ellis said. “They didn’t commit an error. I saw good players all around.”

The Flames say good-bye to seniors Ben Tatum, Jones, Renfro and Sanchez and return rising senior Carter Fromberg, rising juniors Ian Holley and Sawyer Jones, and rising sophomores Braxton Blair, Wade Dillard, Austin Ellis and Cooper Hansard.

“We had four freshmen, three of which started every game,” Ellis said. “We had two sophomores. Everyone of the underclassmen got better. I was real happy. Our outfield had some difficult catches. At the beginning of the season, they wouldn’t have made them. Their individual play has gotten better. They’ll roll into next season.”

The coach hopes this season’s success will entice more Faith students to join the program.

“There’s a buzz around the school now,” he said. “They’re saying they’re going to try to come out next year.”

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CAPTION: Nash Renfro’s performances during the 2024 season say plenty about his character, according to his head coach. Photo by Stennis Shotts