FARMINGTON – In front of large crowds at Ricketts Park on Sunday and Monday night, the opening round of the Connie Mack World Series officially got underway.
Winners in opening-round games move on with unblemished records in bracket play, while losing teams will be fighting to stay alive in the double-elimination format.
Here’s a recap of all the Sunday and Monday action.
A bases-loaded walk in the bottom of the eighth inning scored Tulsa Sandlot’s Weston Thomas, giving them a dramatic 5-4 win over the Texas Twelve in Friday night’s opening game of the championship bracket in the CMWS.
Texas Twelve relief pitcher Chris Gutierrez loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth before facing Ashton Hartwig. Before Gutierrez could release his 0-1 pitch to Hartwig, he appeared to make a move to first base, which was called a balk by the home plate umpire, bringing Thomas across home plate after he opened the eighth inning with a single.
The Tulsa Sandlot advance to the second round of the championship bracket and will face Midland on Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Ricketts Park.
A couple of notable performances from the Tulsa Sandlot included starting pitcher Keegan Robertson, who threw five innings and struck out six hitters before being replaced on the mound by Chance Acord.
Jayshaun Sykes scored a pair of runs for the Sandlot, going 2-2 at the plate. Drake Fritto drove in a pair of runs for the Sandlot.
For the Texas Twelve, Will Hill drove in a run, scored a run and went 2-4 at the plate while Cole Lanclos had a double and a single and scored a run.
The Texas Twelve will face the Frackers in a losers bracket game Tuesday at Ricketts Park at 7:30 p.m.
Pitcher Zach Bender struck out nine hitters and allowed one hit in a complete-game shutout as the Midland Redskins won their bracket opener 4-0 over the host Frackers.
Brady Bollinger and Jackson Reardon each hit home runs for the unbeaten Redskins, who swept their three-game pool play series earlier in the weekend.
Bender, a graduate from Palo Verde (Nevada) High School and a commit to Loyola Marymount University, is coming off a 6-2 season as a senior including an 11-strikeout shutout complete game over Reno on May 18 in the Class 5A state championship game.
Midland will be in action Tuesday at 10 a.m. against Tulsa Sandlot.
The Frackers are on the verge of elimination and will need a win Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. at Ricketts Park when they face with the Texas Twelve.
Jordan Gallo scored a pair of runs and Marc Nellis drove in a pair as the Mississauga Tigers held on for a 6-5 win over the Dallas Patriots in the first game of Monday’s opening round of the series.
The win advances the Tigers into the second round of the championship bracket on Tuesday against the North Texas Longhorns at 1 p.m. at Ricketts Park.
Gallo and Nathan Belle each had a pair of hits for the Tigers, with Wes Johnston getting the victory. Johnston threw five innings, struck out four, walked five and allowed only a pair of runs.
The Tigers trailed 2-0 heading to the top of the fourth inning, when they scored three times to take the lead. They padded that lead in the top of the fifth inning with a pair of runs.
The Tigers had a 6-2 lead before the Patriots scored twice in the bottom of the sixth and once in the bottom of the seventh before their rally fell short when Nick Nava struck out with a runner on first to seal the deal.
The Patriots will look to avoid elimination Tuesday at 1 p.m. at the Sports Complex when they face Dulin’s Dodgers.
Patrick Samuelson scored three times and Brady Quinn tossed three stellar innings out of the bullpen as the North Texas Longhorns earned a 7-5 win over Dulin’s Dodgers.
The Longhorns broke a 5-5 tie in the top of the seventh when Cord Rager grounded into a fielder’s choice but threw away the ball, allowing Samuelson and Cade Dodson to score.
Quinn, who took the mound in the fifth inning for the Longhorns, gave up only one hit and one walk while striking out three batters, stifling the Dodgers offense.
The Dodgers had a chance to close the gap in the bottom of the seventh, loading the bases for leadoff hitter Kendyl Johnson, who flew out to right field to end the game.
For the Dodgers, it’s their first loss since arriving in Farmington for the tournament. They were 3-0 in pool play, matching only Midland for a perfect record in the opening days of the series.
The Longhorns will face the Mississauga Tigers on Tuesday at 1 p.m. in the second round of the championship bracket. The Dodgers will look to avoid elimination when they tackle the Dallas Patriots on Tuesday at the Sports Complex.
Bennett Fryman powered a pair of home runs to lead Dallas D-Bat United to a 6-3 win Monday night over the Dallas Tigers.
Fryman opened the scoring for United with his two-run blast over the right field wall with Will Lehman on first base. Fryman belted his second home run, also to right field, in the sixth inning to put the game out of reach.
The victory propels United into the second round of the championship bracket and a game Tuesday at 5:15 p.m. against the Southern California Renegades at Ricketts Park.
United starting pitcher Jake Ivey threw 4⅔ innings, struck out a pair of batters and allowed only two runs on five hits. Asher Hamilton closed out the win allowing only one run and striking out a pair in 2⅓ innings of work.
The loss drops the Tigers into the consolation bracket and a clash Tuesday against the Acadiana Cajuns.
Wyatt Madison and Taylor Kirk each drove in a pair of runs while Michael Yousef pitched three dominant innings as the Southern Calfornia Renegades pounded the Acadiana Cajuns by a final of 11-2.
Yousef threw only three innings in the five-inning affair, but struck out six and allowed only two hits. Madison and Kirk were a combined 3-4 at the plate with three runs scored. They each had a triple in a game that wasn’t close from the start after the Renegades opened the game with a five-run first inning.
The Renegades came back and scored four more runs in the second inning to earn the win and a second round showdown against D-Bat United.
