The Friendswood Mustangs began the season as the No.1 Class 5A team in the state. After defeating No. 4 state-ranked Crosby and Brenham, the Mustangs are now No. 6 in the state and in the 5A Region III finals against Montgomery Lake Creek.
In Game 1, the contest was close as both teams were tied 3-3 after five frames.
The Mustangs broke the game wide open with a five-run sixth. Collin Goolsby opened the frame with a single on the first pitch from Cayden Shields, who’d allowed only three hits through five innings.
After a sacrifice bunt by Ayden Pearce and a walk to Drew Harris, Kyle Lockhart stroked an RBI single and took second on a Cubs throw to the plate.
With runners on second and third, Dylan Maxcey was intentionally walked to load the bases and after a flyout, Boots Landry, the team’s slugging first baseman, drove a Shields offering to the base of the right field fence for a double to clear the base paths.
“He kept us off our toes. That pitcher was good early, hitting his spots,” said Cory Benevides, Friendswood’s head coach. “He kept us off balance, but we kept going and kept going, and I kept telling them that you’ve got to put pressure on the defense.
“We started to hit some ground balls, they made some mistakes and we capitalized,’’ added Benevides, whose club benefitted from three Brenham errors.
Friendswood won the game 8-4 to set the second game of the best-of-three series.
Friendswood starter Jacob Rogers, who issued five walks in the first three innings, rallied with 1-2-3 innings in the fourth and fifth, including three strikeouts, to give the Mustangs a boost.
“That’s a good thing about having experience,” Benevides said. “(Rogers) didn’t have his best stuff, but he kept us in the game and gave us a chance, and the offense was able to pick him up.”
In Game 2, Friendswood swept Brenham with a 2-0 win to send the Mustangs to the Class 5A Region III finals against the Lake Creek Lions. The Mustangs are now 23-6-1 on the season.
Dylan Maxcey lashed what proved to be the game-winning hit in the bottom of the second inning. Reed South then followed with an RBI single for the game’s last run.
Along with Ty Brantley’s leadoff single to open the second, those were the Mustangs’ only hits of the game.
Friendswood rode the strong arm of Easton Tumis, who allowed a leadoff single to Brenham’s Jacob Mabie to start the game and never gave up another over 5.2 innings.
After a pair of two-out walks in the sixth, Tumis, who fanned six Cubs, gave way to Dane Perry and Griffin Kasemeyer, who combined to strikeout three of Brenham’s final four batters.
“All year, since the first day, we’ve been telling them that this is where we want to be again and we can do it,” said Cory Benevides, Friendswood’s head coach. “We’ve been through ups, downs, sideways…everything that could go wrong has gone wrong, but I truly believe it’s prepared us for moments like this.
“It’s good to return a core group, but we’ve had some young guys fill some big shoes and they’ve stepped up. Easton, he delivered for us, and I can’t forget about the freshman, Dane Perry, and he came in in a big way.”
Friendswood and Lake Creek will play on Wednesday and Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at Rice’s Reckling Park in a best-of-three series. A third game, if needed, will be played on Saturday at the same location at 1:00 p.m.
