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Baseball roundup: Highland Park shuts down hard-hitting Wakeland, 3-1

GRAND PRAIRIE — Highland Park junior left-hander Matt Wilson shut down hard-hitting Frisco Wakeland in a 3-1 victory at Quick Trip Park on Thursday.

Game 2 of the Class 4A regional quarterfinal best-of-3 series will be at 7:30 p.m. Friday at QuickTrip Park.

Highland Park leadoff hitter Mark Gottsacker doubled to spark a three-run first inning, and Wilson didn’t allow a run until the seventh inning. Wakeland (25-10) has eliminated Highland Park (25-10-1) in the state playoffs in dramatic series the last two years.

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“Our kids know who knocked us out, and their kids know,” Highland Park coach Fred Oliver said. “Our kids have done a good job being focused. We were 1-4 in district, and we just asked them to get us to the playoffs. Our kids have battled but we know we have one more game to win against them.”

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Highland Park has won 13 consecutive games since its slow district start. Wilson (6-1) has been a key component. He kept Wakeland off-balance with all five of his strikeouts coming on called third-strike curveballs.

Wakeland had two hits in three different innings but didn’t score. Sophomore catcher Seth Mullis and freshman first baseman Johnny Gonzales had seventh-inning singles and got a run in on a groundout.

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Gottsacker gave Highland Park a 1-0 lead after he scored on a groundout in the first. Gottsacker lined the second pitch for a double down the left-field line. Senior catcher Aaron Falgoust followed with a single and junior right fielder Ryan Romo and senior first baseman Griffin Gaule added RBI singles.

Wilson and Wakeland starter Hayden Nixon (6-2) rolled quickly through the next six innings, even surviving a five-minute delay when the infield sprinklers unexpectedly started.

David McNabb

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Class 5A

Hurst L.D. Bell 7, Plano East 4: Trevor Podsednik hit a two-run home run in the top of the first inning, Blake Henderson threw a complete game and Bell won Game 1 in a best-of-3 Class 5A Region I quarterfinal series at Coppell Baseball Complex. Bell struck for four first-inning runs and led throughout the game. James Rudkin and Clark Kahawaii led Plano East with an RBI apiece.

Class 4A

Corsicana 3, Waxahachie 2: Zane Otten hit a go-ahead RBI single with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh inning as Corsicana held on for a Game 1 win in a best-of-3 Class 4A Region II quarterfinal series at Waxahachie's Richards Park. Hunter Melton relived starting pitcher Holden Grounds and struck out five in three scoreless innings to close the game.

Whitehouse 10, Red Oak 0: Red Oak was held to just two hits in five innings as it fell in Game 1 in a best-of-3 Class 4A Region II quarterfinal series at Red Oak. Wade Regas and Jake Lindsey each collected a single for Red Oak.

Class 3A

Argyle 7, Prosper 1: Austin Aune and Jay Gonzales each hit two-run home runs, and Drew Gooch threw a complete-game three-hitter as Argyle captured Game 1 in a best-of-3 Class 3A Region II quarterfinal series. Farmersville 10, Sanger 1: Tied at 1 after the first inning Farmersville scored nine unanswered runs to secure a Game 1 victory in a best-of-3 Class 3A Region II quarterfinal series. Famersville starting pitcher Derrick Griffin allowed just one runner after the first inning.

Class 2A

Sunnyvale 15, Corsicana Mildred 3: Sunnvvale belted 21 hits en route to a Game 1 win in a best-of-3 Class 2A Region II quarterfinal series. Brock Taylor led Sunnyvale with four hits, two RBIs and three runs. Teammates Zach Metzger and Devin DeLeon chipped in with three hits each. After allowing three first-inning runs Sunnyvale starting pitcher Jake Wilcox settled down and struck out 12 in six innings.