The Odessa High baseball team was able to keep things close early against Wolfforth Frenship to start their three-game District 2-6A series Tuesday at Pressly Field.
After going almost hit for hit with the Tigers in the first two innings, the Bronchos weren’t able to keep things flowing late in a 9-6 loss.
Odessa High coach Josh Hulin said his team had various self-inflicted issues that extended innings and gave Wolfforth Frenship chances to jump ahead.
“Frenship hit the ball really, really well today but when you look at the things that we did to help extend innings, that let them have more at-bats than they should have,” Hulin said.
Coldon Kiser got things going for Wolfforth Frenship in the top of the first with an RBI double to center field, driving in Brock Rogers.
That set Nano Mendoza up to hit a deep, two-run home run, giving the visitors a 3-0 lead to start the game.
Before Kiser’s double, the Bronchos could have secured the third out of the frame before a pop up was dropped in foul territory.
The Tigers took advantage of plays like those through the game.
Odessa High responded as quickly as possible in the bottom of the inning, seeing its first three batters get on base with two hits and a walk.
All three of those players scored to help the Bronchos tie the game up at 3-3, highlighted by a double from Jairo Guerrero and a two-run single from Zorian Del Real.
The Tigers stayed consistent in their scoring through the second and third, bringing in one runner in both innings to give themselves some space.
Facing a 5-3 deficit, the Bronchos kept the game close when Javier Regalado doubled deep to center field to bring in Del Real in the bottom of the third.
Scoring became difficult for Odessa High after Del Real came across, as the team was held scoreless from the fourth through sixth innings.
Wolfforth Frenship brought in four insurance runs in the sixth and seventh, which was ultimately enough to secure the win despite two late scores from the Bronchos.
David Sanchez and Guerrero reached home plate for Odessa High in the bottom of the seventh.
Hulin said his team has been going through self-inflicted mistakes for a long time, something he hopes would have changed late in the season.
“I would expect our guys to show up the very next game and focus on that one and forget about this one,” Hulin said.
The Tigers (17-9 overall, 11-3 district) closed out the game with 16 hits, while the Bronchos (15-12-1, 6-8) recorded nine.
They’ll continue the series at 6 p.m. Friday at Tiger Baseball Field in Wolfforth before closing it out at 2 p.m. Saturday at Pressly Field.
Hulin said he believes his team’s offense has been solid over the past four or five weeks, getting quality at-bats from each player on the lineup.
“We can hit the ball, we’ve just got to be more consistent across the board,” Hulin said. “Pitching, offense and defense.”
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