Midland vs. Frenship

WOLFFORTH, Texas- Frenship (18-10, 7-6) battled back from a 7-3 deficit in the sixth to send the game into extras before falling, 12-7, in a four-hour affair and eight innings against Midland (20-10, 9-4) Thursday night to clinch a 2-1 series win over Frenship.

This game had the makes of being a very interesting pitchers’ matchup with Howard JC signee RHP Colton Brown on the mound for Frenship and one of the top uncommitted arms in the state in RHP Randall Blanscett going for Midland. Brown, who has capability to quiet any lineup anytime he takes the mound, flashed a big-time fastball at 86-88 with arm side run that has the ability to get on hitters very quickly. Blanscett, who has shown consistent velocity on his fastball at 88-89, 90 all season long continues to be not only one of the most dominant arms in district 2-6A, but as well as the West Texas area.

Both teams were able to score relatively early, with Frenship being the first to scratch as a leadoff double from junior 3B Jacob Gutierrez (University of New Mexico commit) who would later score on an RBI single from senior SS Christian Kiser to give Frenship an early 1-0 lead in the first.

 Midland would answer with four runs in the second, with majority of the runs coming off the bats of two seniors in CF Billy Schweinbraten who came through with an RBI double and an RBI single from Tennessee signee SS Tyler Wade (No. 50 in the PBR Texas 2019 class rankings, and the No. 10 ranked SS). After a few defensive misuses, Frenship would contribute to two unearned runs to give Midland a 4-1 lead in the second.

 In the fourth both teams would add two runs, with Midlands coming off the bat of senior RF Sean Porterwho would send a ball to deep left-field for an RBI double to give Midland a6-1 lead. Frenship would reduce the deficit to three (6-3), after an absolute shot down the left-field line for a two-run RBI double from a reliable source in Gutierrez.

 Offensive productivity would continue for Gutierrez in a big way in the sixth, after a clutch two-run RBI triple that would put Frenship within two (7-5). Another, RBI single from Kiser would score Gutierrez to make it a one run ballgame (7-6). Frenship would eventually tie the game at seven on an opposite field RBI single from Midland JC signee 1B Riley Robinson to essentially send this game into extras.

 In the eight Midland would take control after an RBI single from senior C Wyatt Taylor and two base-on-balls, and two hit-by-pitch would push across five runs in the eight for Midland to ultimately secure the 12-7 victory for Midland. With the series win over Frenship, Midland has clinched a playoff spot and is one win away from being crowned district champions of district 2-6A.

Final Score: Midland 12, Frenship 7.

STATS

Midland
Wade: 1-5, RBI
Porter: 1-2, 2B, RBI
Wagerman: 2-5, 2 RBI
Blanscett: 4-5, RBI, 5 IP, 5K, 4H

Frenship
Gutierrez: 3-4, 3B, 2 2B, 3 RBI
Brown: 4.1 IP, 8K, 5H
Robinson: 1-3, RBI
Kiser: 2-4, 2 RBI
McFarland: 2-4, 2B, RBI  

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SCOUT NOTES 

Jacob Gutierrez, 3B, Frenship, 2020
New Mexico commit. Muscular 5-foot-10, 185-pound frame, defined lower-half, proportional strength, substantial strength in forearms, barrel-chested. One of the premier corner defenders in the area, and one of the most well-rounded players in the 2020 class. The right-handed hitter starts from a balanced athletic stance, is short to the ball, with power to all fields, ball jumps off the bat with backspin carry, simple and quiet mechanically, short stride, with an explosive lower half. Offensively, turned in an impressive 3-4 night, showing flashes of pop to pull after hitting two balls to LF for doubles, possessing + speed.