<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=2Mq2Rs_0t4NCU8o00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=2Mq2Rs_0t4NCU8o00" width="1200" height="800" ><figcaption>A&amp;M Consolidated's Brandon Jennings scores against Magnolia West at Brenham's Fireman's Park on Wednesday night in the opener of their Class 5A regional quarterfinal series.&nbsp; MEREDITH SEAVER, THE EAGLE</figcaption></figure>BRENHAM — The A&amp;M Consolidated baseball team had Magnolia West right where it wanted, but the Tigers couldn’t finish, which has been the case with a few other Mustang opponents in the last two seasons.Magnolia West, the defending Class 5A state champs, scored seven runs in the seventh inning to rally for a 10-4 victory in the opener of their best-of-3 quarterfinal series Wednesday night at Fireman’s Park. The fifth-ranked Tigers had a 4-3 lead after six innings by taking advantage of hiccups by the Mustangs. Opportunistic Consol wiped out 1-0 and 3-2 deficits. The Tigers scored two runs in the fifth inning for a 4-3 lead on a two-out, two-run double by senior Brandon Jennings.Consol senior reliever Wally Bockelmann hit a batter with his first pitch, but the left-hander needed less than 10 pitches to retire the next three batters. The Tigers weren’t able to carry that momentum in the final inning. Magnolia West senior Trenton Buckley reached on Consol’s first error of the game. Consol walked junior Caldwell McFaddin who had a two-run homer in the previous at-bat. The Mustangs, who had failed in their last two bunt attempts, opted to have cleanup hitter Carson Dunaway attempt to move the runners 90 feet via small ball. Dunaway, who had two hits in the game, pushed a bunt hard toward first base. The Tigers had a play at third, but an errant throw scored the tying run and still left two runners in scoring position. Junior Cody Palacios followed with a three-run homer to make it 7-4. The inning continued to unravel for Consol, which walked two more batters, had a throwing error and wild pitch. The inning took approximately 15 minutes as the Tigers made two pitching changes. The Mustangs sent 11 to the plate, but with only three getting hits.<h2>People are also reading…</h2>Consol sixth-year coach Ryan Lennerton admitted Magnolia West has playoff experience, while he has the Tigers in the third round of the playoffs for the first time since they went to the 2012 state tournament, but he didn’t think that was the difference.“I just don’t think we were very tough there at the end,” Lennerton said. “We made some uncharacteristic errors there at the end and we need to fix that before Friday.”Game 2 of the series will be at 7 p.m. Friday back at Fireman’s Park with Game 3, if needed, at 2 p.m. Saturday in Huntsville.Consol (24-6-1) won 21-5A in part because it swept defending champion Magnolia West (21-14-1) 11-6 on April 16 and 5-4 on April 19. That jump-started an eight-game winning streak that included playoff sweeps of Killeen Chaparral and Pflugerville Henderickson.A&amp;M will need to sweep Magnolia West again to advance to face the winner between Santa Fe (23-11-1) and Richmond Foster (25-11). The Mustangs since losing to the Tigers have become more formidable by winning eight of nine.“What a lot of guys don’t know about us is we kind of snuck into the playoffs, but we’ve been playing – quote, unquote – playoff baseball since halfway through district until this point,” coach Travis Earles said. “Our guys have been through the ringer, they don’t freak out when we’re down.”Magnolia West won its first five district games, but then lost four straight. Getting swept by Consol sandwiched around splitting series with Brenham and Montgomery left the Mustangs at 7-7 and needing to beat College Station just to make the playoffs as the district’s fourth seed.Magnolia West’s batting lineup got a boost with the return of an injured McFaddin, who was 3 for 3 in the game with either his first or second home of the season,Earles said. Junior reliever Nolan Cruz, who got the victory, had been splitting time with the varsity and junior varsity, until the last month.“We went through a lot of stuff early that other teams haven’t gone through, and we still came out the other side,” said Earles, adding that they are now reaping the rewards. “I’m excited where we are.”The new-look Mustangs threatened to take a huge lead in the first inning as four of the first five batters had singles, three of them taking the pitch to the opposite field for a 1-0 lead. But Consol freshman right-hander Michael Pozzi showed great poise by escaping a bases-loaded jam with a pair of grounders.Consol after weathering a 28-pitch top of the frame quickly tied it. Magnolia West’s shortstop booted senior Nathan Hodge’s two-out grounder. Consol senior Trey Walker, who in his last at-bat against the Mustangs delivered a walk-off winner, came through with a sweet double up the left-center field alley that scored Hodge. There potentially was a play at home, but the shortstop dropped the relay throw.Consol had a chance to take the lead after loading the bases in the second on singles by Jennings and senior Gage Boyd and junior Will Hargett walking, but Magnolia West came up with a double play.Consol did take a 2-1 lead in the fourth, making Magnolia West starter Jayton Harral pay for walking Jennings and Boyd with senior Joaquin Costa coming through with a two-out RBI single.Consol’s lead disappeared the following inning on McFaddin’s blast to left-center field. The Tigers quickly answered. Earles, who stayed with Harral after he labored in the fourth inning, lifted the right-hander who has signed with Frank Phillips College after he walked junior Kai Hood to open the fifth. Cruz had the Tigers off guard early with a sweeping breaking pitch, getting a fielder’s choice and strikeout, but senior Dalton Cordray got a single and senior Brad Boedeker worked a walk to load the bases. The right-handed hitting Jennings pulled the first pitch and Magnolia West’s third baseman couldn’t make a tough play.There were only five strikeouts in the game, four by Magnolia West pitchers. The errors were complemented by some fielding gems. Center fielder Hood covered ground well and with a diving catch of a sinking liner by freshman Garrett Bagwell in the sixth prevented the Mustangs having two runners on with only one out.Magnolia West 10, Consol 4Magnolia West 100 020 7 – 10 11 1A&amp;M Consolidated 100 120 0 – 4 8 3Jayton Harral, Nolan Cruz (5) and Garrett Bagwell. Michael Pozzi, Wally Bockelmann (6), Nathaniel Maddox (7), Owen Horrell (7) and Trey Walker. W – Cruz. L – Bockelmann, 4-1.HRs – Caldwell McFaddin, Magnolia West; Cody Palacios, Magnolia West.Leading hitters – MAGNOLIA WEST: McFaddin 3-3, BB, 3 RBIs; Dawson Park 3-4; Carson Dunaway 2-3; Palacios 2-3, 3 RBIs; A&amp;M CONSOLIDATED – Brandon Jennings 2-2, BB, 2B, 2 RBIs; Nathan Hodge 2-4; Walker 1-4, 2B, RBI; Gage Boyd 1-2, BB; Joaquin Costa 1-4, RBI; Dalton Cordray 1-4</div></body>

Mountain View, CA

NewsBreak

Magnolia West uses big seventh inning to beat Consol in opener

BRENHAM — The A&M Consolidated baseball team had Magnolia West right where it wanted, but the Tigers couldn’t finish, which has been the case with a few other Mustang opponents in the last two seasons. Magnolia West, the defending Class 5A state champs, scored seven runs in the...

Magnolia West uses big seventh inning to beat Consol in opener

Comments / 0