The weekend for the baseball team ended with their first district losses, in a two-game series against Plano West on Friday April 5 and Saturday April 6.
Junior Kenneth Tabor threw the first ball of the Friday game. He went three and three and he threw nine strike outs. Straight off the top, the bases were loaded with only one out. The next player at bat hit a double to far right field, allowing the first two runs in. The team’s momentum started off slow, which caused them to fall behind quickly from the start. The game for junior Ryan Robertson did not start out well. The shortstop dove to save a hit; the ball struck him in the jaw, leaving him lying motionless on the ground. After the trainers and coaches checked him for any serious injuries, the crowd applauded as he jumped to his feet. Despite being injured in the first minutes of the game, he was able to play until the last inning.
During the second inning, neither team scored, but while on defense, Plano chose to give a specific batter an intentional walk, a defensive maneuver where the batter is sent to first base without swinging a bat. The next batter stepped up and struck out, ending the top of the inning. As West continued to rack up points, Plano struggled to make it past second base. The opponent’s defense was relentless.
Again in the third inning, West made a base hit with a passed ball. A passed ball is scored when a runner reaches a base on a bobble or a missed catch by the catcher, or when the batter reaches first base on an uncaught, third strike.
Finally, in the fourth inning, Tabor was relieved by junior Jake Fraze. Although he allowed a double and a walk in his first minutes on the mound, he did not allow any runs in that inning.
The first runs of the game were from a double hit by sophomore Mitchell Hansen; Robertson and senior Cody Farhat both ran to home plate. Plano gained energy and caught up on the scoreboard.
The game ended with back-to-back grand slams, one with the bases loaded. Plano was defeated with a final score of 12-4.
