Mineral Wells wins on back-to-back shutouts Friday
By DAVID MAY | Special to Mineral Wells Area News
Mineral Wells pitching phenom Holden Hering struck out 13 Alvarado Indians with no walks and allowed one hit over five innings of work as the Rams cruised to a 5-0 win Friday night at Pratt Field.
The Texas Tech signee and pro prospect has not been scored on his last three outings totaling 15 innings. Thirty-five of his 45 outs in that stretch have been strikeouts.
Hering helped his cause at the plate, going 2-for-4 with an RBI and scoring a run. His brother, freshman Hayes Hering, Josh Petrie and Curry Crouch also collected RBIs as the Rams improved to 6-1 on the season. Mineral Wells earlier on Friday blanked the Northside Steers, 15-0.
Against Alvarado, the Rams took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning on a called balk. That would turn out to be the only run they would need.
Mineral Wells opened it up by plating three runs in the bottom of the fifth. A pair of leadoff walks were followed by an error on a Holden Hering fly ball to left, loading the bases. Josh Petrie was hit by a pitch, scoring the first run without the benefit of a base hit. Crouch executed a sacrifice bunt that scored William Hollifield. Hayes Hering plated his brother on an infield single.
Holden Herring knocked in Owen Gadd for the fifth and final run.
Newt Shroeder pitched two scoreless innings in relief of Hering, fanning three Indians while allowing one hit.
In Friday’s first game, the Rams exploded for five runs in the second and eight in the fourth to record a run-rule 15-0 win over Northside. The game was called in the fourth inning.
Jaxon Cox got the start and the win for Mineral Wells, allowing no runs and three hits with four strikeouts in his four innings of work.
The Steers pitchers were their own worst enemies, giving up 10 walks and 11 hits while striking out just two Rams hitters.
Hollifield, Shroeder, Petrie, Crouch and Hayes Hering each collected two RBIs. Tyler McWhorter went 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI double. Petrie and Schroeder also doubled. Preston Mendez, Owen Gadd, and Holden Hering led the team with two walks each. Hollifield had two of the team’s five base thefts in the game.
Mineral Wells got on the board in the bottom of the first inning after Petrie doubled down the left field line, and Crouch laid down a sacrifice bunt, each producing a run.
In the second, Hollifield knocked a two-run single, two more scored on a Petrie ground out, and Crouch singled, scoring another run.
The fourth inning began with singles by Petrie and Crouch with both scoring on a Hayes Hering base hit. McWhorter struck his run-scoring double before hit-by-pitch put two runners aboard. Another walk loaded the bases. Shroeder’s double scored two runs. Another walk and a hit batter scored a run to make it 13-0. A passed ball allowed Shroeder to score, with the game’s final run coming on a bases-loaded walk.
Mineral Wells concludes its CrazyTown High School Baseball Classic with a scheduled 3 p.m. game Saturday against Burkburnett.