Badgers finish tourney 1-2

The Lampasas High School baseball team produced three consecutive solid efforts at the Wolf Pack Baseball Classic at Killeen Shoemaker High School.

The Badgers (3-7) opened the tournament with a 9-3 win against Austin Travis. They led eventual tournament champion Pflugerville Connally, 5-3, after four innings in a 13-5 loss, and they closed the tournament with a solid pitching performance from Seth Fry in a 3-2 loss to Liberty Christian.

One of the issues plaguing the Badgers heading into the Wolf Pack Classic was committing too many defensive miscues. The Badgers played their best defense of the season over the weekend, committing just six errors in three games.

In the opening-round win against Austin Travis, Cody Bailey's solid effort on the mound was enhanced by that improved defense. Bailey went the distance, allowing four hits and two earned runs and striking out 10 in six innings.

Cody Singleton, Justin Rainwater, Jonathan VanLiew and Chance Vann each recorded multi-hit games. Rainwater homered and drove in two runs, and Kyle Landry also plated two runs. VanLiew and Vann registered doubles, and Bailey, Vann, Stephen Eskola and VanLiew all drove in a run.

In the loss to Connally, the Badgers plated four runs in the bottom of the third inning and led 5-3 heading into the fifth before Connally exploded for 10 runs in the top of the inning.

Coleton Lucas handcuffed Connally hitters for four innings, but control issues bit him in the fifth. Lucas allowed just five hits in 4.2 innings but walked six and permitted seven earned runs. Rainwater allowed three earned runs in relief.

The bottom of the Badgers' lineup did the majority of the damage on offense. Nos. 7, 8 and 9 hitters Lucas, Fry and VanLiew drove in four of the five Badger runs. Fry had two hits and two RBIs, and Van Liew had two hits, including a triple, and an RBI. Ryan Abbott also drove in a run.

In the loss to Liberty Christian, Seth Fry scattered five hits in 5.1 innings, walking just two and allowing two runs. Stetson Magilke took the loss in one inning of relief work, allowing two hits and a run.

Abbott had three hits, including a double, scored two runs and stole two bases. Rainwater and Magilke each plated runs, and VanLiew recorded a double.