Marble Falls baseball beats Johnson City
CAPTION: Here’s Marble Falls junior Atreyu Machacek’s swing on the game-winning hit that brought home sophomore John Alan Whittle in the bottom of the sixth inning against Johnson City. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School baseball team beat Johnson City 10-9 March 28 in a non-district contest.
Marble Falls was cruising, taking a 9-0 lead to the top of the sixth inning.
But the Eagles, ranked No. 1 in the Class 2A poll of the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association, showed why.
They sent 15 batters to the plate and tied the contest at 9-9 thanks to four hits and eight free bases. The Mustangs didn’t commit an error the entire game, so the runs were all earned.
Meanwhile, Marble Falls sophomore pitcher Sam Smith (1-0) entered the contest with the bases loaded and two outs to get the Mustangs out of the inning.
With the game tied at 9-9 in the bottom of the sixth inning, sophomore John Alan Whittle reached first on an error and went to second on a sacrifice bunt by freshman Crawford Mattox. Whittle scored the game-winning run on a RBI single to left-center field by junior Atreyu Machacek.
Then freshman pitcher Anderson Liscum (1) got the save. After walking the first batter, he forced the second one to pop up to shortstop Whittle and the final batter to hit a line drive to freshman second baseman Ben Sowers. Johnson City had called for hit and run so after making the catch, Sowers flicked the ball to first baseman Mattox for the final out.
Head coach Tyler Porter said he didn’t tell the players much going into the bottom of the sixth inning. But he shared his thoughts as Johnson City threatened to take the lead.
He noted that Whittle, who bats second in the order, was leading off. He was comfortable knowing that Marble Falls’ best hitters were coming to the plate.
“I have kids around baseball, who run the bases very aggressive,” the coach said, adding that two hits changes the scoreboard. “Whittle did get on base. As you know the top of the lineup is good.”
Going into the week of non-district play, Porter said he wanted a thorough look at the pitching staff to best determine where each Mustang can best help the team.
He stuck to that formula throughout this game, using six pitchers led by Friday starting pitcher Canon Cochran. The junior allowed only one hit and walked four while striking out three and throwing about 45 pitches.
“We threw him so he can stay in routine,” Porter said. “He went short and really ended up going really short.”
Mattox continued the streak in the fourth inning where he allowed two hits and a walk and struck out one. Senior Brenton Liscum took over in the fifth inning where only two batters reached base because of a walk and a hit by pitch. Otherwise, no one recorded a hit.
In fact, the Eagles drew more free bases — 16 — than hits — six, all unofficial. They stranded 11 runners.
“We did a good job overall,” Porter said.
As for the top of the sixth inning, the coach said the experience will benefit the program in time.
“We’ll learn from this,” he said. “All of those lessons we’re learning right now, and we’ll be fine.”
Offensively, the Mustangs scored 10 runs off 7 hits. Much of those runs were unearned because of five Johnson City errors. And Johnson City senior pitcher Johnny Slawinski, who signed to play for Texas A&M and is thought to be drafted by a Major League Baseball team this year, did not pitch.
Cochran had 3 RBI off 2 hits, while Whittle, Machacek and freshman Cade Briseno each had a hit and a RBI. Sophomore Owen Nash, freshman Braxton Dicken and Sowers each had a RBI, while Mattox and sophomore Casey Layton each had a hit.
“I liked our base running,” Porter said. “We had some really aggressive steps tonight. Some worked out and some didn’t, but it was all aggressive. And that’s the goal for us. It’s creating chaos on the bases. This is high school baseball. If you force them to make a perfect play and they make it, that’s all I would ask.”
The Mustangs (4-0) return to District 24-4A play by welcoming Salado (11-5-1, 6-0) Tuesday, April 1, then traveling to finish the two-game series Friday, April 4. Both games begin at 7 p.m.
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior pitcher Canon Cochran tosses the ball to first base for the out on a bunt. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
