Weatherford bows out to Flower Mound

May 28—DALLAS — Fresh off their series win over the second-ranked Keller Indians, the Weatherford Kangaroos baseball team faced a mighty Flower Mound Jaguars team in the regional semifinals — a first for Weatherford since 1982.

The Kangaroos and Jaguars went the distance in the best-of-three series Friday and Saturday at Dallas Baptist University, but Flower Mound ultimately advanced after claiming victory in Game 3. The Jaguars took Games 1 and 3 by final scores of 9-0 and 8-2, respectively, while Weatherford recorded a 5-3 victory in Game 2.

Although the season came to a close, Weatherford emerged with plenty of accomplishments to take pride in, and Kangaroo head coach Jason Lee was pleased with both the results and achievements of the Kangaroos.

"I'm super proud of them. We actually tied the record for school wins when we won Game 2 today, so we tied the record of 32 wins," Lee said. "Super proud of the way they fought through adversity all year. Every time something didn't go our way, the kids battled back and responded well. They worked hard in practice, in the weight room and they got themselves ready for the season. The senior class is a special group and we are definitely going to miss them. There's not enough words I can say about them."

Game 1 featured junior pitcher Will Jordan on the mound, who was the winning pitcher in the first game against Keller in the previous series. Jordan was able to quiet the Jaguar bats through two innings of play, but Flower Mound was able to get rolling from the plate in the next two frames by increasing the lead to 6-0, highlighted by a three-run blast from senior Cole Ridenour in the top of the third. Flower Mound ultimately won the game 9-0 and Weatherford needed a spark in Game 2, so star senior Kannon Kemp took the bump with the season on the line, and Lee and his staff made adjustments.

"They get up there and swing the bat very well — they're aggressive," Lee said. "We knew we were going to have to come into Game 2 and mix up some pitches, and Kannon (Kemp) did a really good job of mixing it up, throwing his breaking balls and obviously his best pitch in his fast ball — we weren't going to go away from that...I think that's what you've got to do to those guys — they're a really good ball club."

Game 2 took place Saturday afternoon and the Roos started out hot from the plate. Junior centerfielder J.T. Cienega hit the first pitch he saw for a single and Kemp singled to put runners on first and second with one out. After that, senior catcher Wyatt Perdue singled to drive in Cienega and help Weatherford take a 1-0 lead.

The teams traded zeroes through the next four innings until Weatherford broke through in the top of the sixth. The Roos loaded the bases with no outs in the frame, and junior infielder Joel Gonzales made the Jaguars pay with a single that plated two runs and extended the lead to 3-1. Later in the frame, a sacrifice fly from senior Carter Norris and an RBI single off the bat of senior Tanner Mullins made it a 5-1 game.

Flower Mound threatened with two late runs to cut the deficit in half, but Kemp and the Weatherford defense shut down the threat and forced a decisive third game.

Lee said he and his staff's plan was to throw different pitchers at the potent Flower Mound lineup to keep them off balance while trying to attack the count early against ace pitcher Jacob Gholston — an OU commit like Kemp. The plan worked early as Weatherford was able to limit the offensive output from Flower Mound while getting good looks from the plate, but the Jaguars eventually built an 8-0 lead through five innings.

Weatherford did not go out without showing fight, though, as Cienega scored on a wild pitch and Perdue drove in another run through a sacrifice fly to trim the deficit to 8-2 in the sixth inning. However, the Roos were not able to muster up any more offense and Flower Mound held on for the series victory.

Weatherford (32-11, 11-3 district) saw its successful season come to an end Saturday afternoon. The Roos claimed the District 3-6A, Region I championship by winning 11 of their last 12 district contests. Weatherford matched its program-record win total of 32 while reaching the regional semifinals for the first time since 1982, when the Roos made it to the regional final.