Marble Falls baseball run rules Lampasas to win series

The Marble Falls High School baseball team annihaliated Lampasas 18-8 March 31 in a contest that ended when Canon Cochran came home on a pass ball in the sixth inning.

The Mustangs took the series win against the Badgers and are tied for first place in District 24-4A after Burnet lost to Jarrell in games two and three March 28 and 31.

“I told them to step on their throats,” Marble Falls head coach Tyler Porter said. “We felt good when we came up with the three runs (early in the contest). I told them, ‘Don’t lose focus. Let’s stay after them.’ Lampasas came here feeling pretty good.”

Marble Falls exploded for 13 runs in the final two innings of play. Trailing 7-5 in the bottom of the fifth inning, the Mustangs had a total of 10 batters that inning and took advantage of three walks to plate six runs. The first two scores came on a 2-RBI double to left field by Davis Dreisbach. Then Evan Nickowski added a 2-RBI double to center field. Cale Cochran and Isaias Roman each hit an RBI double for an 11-7 lead.

To stop the momentum, Lampasas used three different pitchers that inning.

And though the Badgers got a run back in the sixth, Marble Falls answered back with seven runs. Brady Elwartowski got the Mustangs going with a double followed by Kyle Curtis drawing a walk. Nickowski hit a 2-RBI triple and came home on a RBI single by Jake Carter. Bryce Atkinson got a RBI on a fielder’s choice before Cochran went home to end the game.

“We can hit, and we can score in bunches,” Porter said.

Roman got the scoring going in the first inning with a RBI single for a 1-0 lead. Cale Cochran hit a 2-RBI double in the second for a 3-0 advantage.

Lampasas scored five runs in the third inning and two more in the fourth inning for a 7-3 lead. Most of the runs in the third inning were unearned.

Nickowski and Cale Cochran each hit RBI doubles in the fourth inning to trim the deficit to 7-5.

Nickowski led the offensive onslaught with 5 RBIs off 4 hits and had 4 scored runs.

Pitcher Cale Cochran (3-0, 1 save in district play) earned the win by allowing three earned runs off six hits with three walks, one hit by pitch, and striking three in four innings. Other pitchers included A.J. Scovil and Nickowski.

Nickowski, who was the lead-off batter, was named the player of the game.

“The fastball looked like a beach ball,” he said. “I felt our energy and our swagger. We got to our old ways. We woke our bats up.”

He said the Mustangs were performing like they had been throughout the season: solid pitching and a defense that made routine plays combined with punishing hitting that scored runs.

“We did well all season and then we had two bad games,” he said. “It took a little bit to get back.”

Every time the Mustang reached base, he looked to the dugout and yelled with enthusiasm. His teammates celebrated with him, which fired up everyone in a purple uniform, he said.

“It was pretty electric,” he said. “It made everyone do well. They wanted to match me. Everyone was having a good time, no matter their roles. I knew I had to do a job. Why not show it on the field? Everyone matched the energy.”

Meanwhile, the Mustangs had almost as many errors March 31 as they did March 28. The difference is they didn’t allow those errors to dictate the outcome of the game.

“We did well,” Porter said. “We’re a good defensive team.”

Next up is a road trip to Georgetown Gateway Tuesday, April 4, followed by the Gators visiting Scearce Field Thursday, April 6. Both games are at 7 p.m.

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