Princeton’s Beto Sauceda gets under a fly ball as Jordan Mosley backs up the play last Friday. Photo by Jerry Winfrey / C&S Media
By David Wolman
The Princeton baseball team came into last week’s two-game series against McKinney Boyd looking to finish the season on a winning note.
The Panthers put themselves to do just that, thanks to an early surge at the plate and effective pitching. However, Princeton was unable to build on that momentum, and it was a strong finish by McKinney Boyd in a 10-1 win Friday on Princeton’s Senior Night that prevented the Panthers from earning their second District 6-6A win.
The bats going for Princeton from the get-go. Marlon Alvarado lead off the bottom of the first with a single, advanced to second base on a walk by Felix Martinez, to third base on a Skylar Barnes single before scoring on a Kayden Cochrane RBI sacrifice fly for a 1-0 Panthers lead.
McKinney Boyd quickly answered the score. Carson Wade was hit by a pitch in the top of the second and later stole home plate, tying the score at 1-1.
Princeton threatened to retake the lead in the third inning. A single by Cochrane loaded the bases with two outs, but the Panthers were unable to plate a run. A groundball out ended the threat and kept the score tied.
The Panthers had only one base runner for the remainder of the game, with the Broncos’ pitching staff retiring 12 of the final 13 batters they faced.
A bad break for Princeton allowed McKinney Boyd to take the lead for good in the fourth inning. The Panthers appeared to get out of the inning unscathed, but a dropped third strike allowed Drew Bradley to reach safely and Gavin Peterson to score the go-ahead run.
McKinney Boyd seized control in the fifth inning. A two-run triple by Joseph Schwartz capped a three-run frame for the Broncos, who increased their lead to 5-1. McKinney Boyd tacked on five more runs in the seventh, capitalizing on five walks an RBI single by Spencer Papon.
In Game 1 of the two-game series, Princeton was held to one hit – a single by Elijah Vega – and McKinney Boyd used a four-run first inning to set the tone in an eventual 7-0 home win on April 22.
Princeton struck out 10 times against one walk and one hit.
Cade Reagan got the Broncos on the board with a two-run single, and a pair of walks that soon followed increased McKinney Boyd’s lead to 4-0.
The pitching of Barnes prevented the Broncos from further adding to their lead. That was until the fifth inning. A double and a two-run singled that followed – both with two outs –increased McKinney Boyd’s lead to 7-0.
Princeton finished the season with a 9-20 overall record and a 1-15 mark in district play.
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