The Frenship baseball team has found a recipe that seems to work this postseason – strong pitching, timely hitting, and come-from-behind victories. That formula worked again last weekend as the Tigers first beat Midland High in extra innings before shutting the door defensively and sweeping the Bulldogs last weekend in the Class 6A Region I Quarterfinals at New Mexico Junior College.
Friday’s game one needed extra innings, and after Midland took a 5-4 lead in the top of the eighth inning, Frenship responded with two runs in the bottom of the eighth for the win. Koby Claborn scored on a Bulldog error, and that was enough to give FHS the win.
Both teams took their swings at grabbing the early momentum in the series. Midland struck first in the first inning to take and early lead, but FHS responded with a run of their own thanks to an RBI double by Claborn.
The Tigers put together a two-run rally in the second. Chandler Casey’s two-run single scored Bryce Kiser and Riley Fitzgerald, and it gave FHS a 3-1 lead.
Kiser added an RBI single in the third to give Frenship a 4-2 lead, but the Bulldogs would tie it a four in the sixth.
Conley Green came in to pitch in relief in the sixth and would slow down Midland the rest of the way. Green got the win after allowing only one run over the last 2.1 innings.
Tresten Kennard finished 3-for-4 with two doubles. Claborn was 2-3 at the plate and scored the game-winning run.
In Saturday’s game two, pitcher Parker Bingham never game Midland High a chance to take control of the game. Bingham pitched a complete game and gave up only one first-inning run that propelled FHS to a 6-1 win and a series sweep.
The top four in Frenship’s lineup – Jake Salyer, Casey, Claborn, and Kyler Genenbacher – each had two hits in the game.
Genenbacher’s home run in the sixth inning was the knockout blow for FHS. His single in the first gave the Tigers an early 1-0 lead.
Frenship (26-9) continues to roll on in the Class 6A playoffs as one of the final 16 teams in Texas still alive. The Tigers now face off with Keller in the Region I Semifinals. Game one is Friday, May 29 beginning at noon at Texas Tech’s Dan Law Field. If Keller wins game one, game two will be 30 minutes after game one. If Frenship wins game one, game two will be Saturday, May 30 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at McKinney Boyd High School. Game three of the series, if necessary, will be Saturday night at McKinney Boyd.
CLASS 6A REGION I QUARTERFINALS
GAME 1
FRENSHIP 6, MIDLAND 5 (8 innings)
MHS 101 002 01 – 5 10 1
FHS 121 000 02 – 6 11 3
GAME 2
FRENSHIP 6, MIDLAND 1
FHS 100 013 1 – 6 11 1
MHS 100 000 0 – 1 6 1
CLASS 6A REGION I SEMIFINALS
FRENSHIP (24-8) vs KELLER (24-4-1)
Game 1: Friday, May 29, 12:00 p.m., Texas Tech’s Dan Law Field at Rip Griffin Park
Game 2: if Keller wins Game 1, Game 2 will be 30 minutes after Game 1; if Frenship wins Game 1, Game 2 will be Saturday, May 30, 6:00 p.m. at McKinney Boyd High School
Game 3 (if necessary): if Game 2 is at Texas Tech, then Game 3 will be Saturday, May 30 at 7:00 p.m. at McKinney Boyd; if Game 2 is at McKinney Boyd, then Game 3 will be 30 minutes after Game 2
