Johnson City defeated Goldthwaite 11-1 on March 18 and Mason 6-0 on March 21 to improve to 5-0 in district play. The Eagles are ranked as the number one team in Class 2A in this week’s Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association poll.
With the district season approaching its midpoint and with seven district games remaining, head coach Rhett Eickenloff is happy with how the team is coming together. The Eagles have won every game in district play so far, each by at least six runs, and are a powerful force in the district.
“They’re starting to pick each other up, they’re really gelling as a team, and right now is the time to do it,” Eickenloff said. “The closer we get to the playoffs, the more well-rounded you want to be as a team.”
Sophomore Wyatt Lorenzen started the game against Goldthwaite on the mound and pitched all five innings. He allowed just two hits and struck out six.
Junior Luke Lorenzen kickstarted Johnson City’s offense with a two-run home run in the first inning and a grand slam in the second. Goldthwaite’s only run of the game followed an error in the third inning, and Johnson City added five more runs in the fourth and fifth innings to win 111. Lorenzon led Johnson City in RBIs with six, and freshman Truett Fry led the team in walks with three.
Last Friday, Johnson City travelled to Mason for the first of two games against the Punchers. Senior Johnny Slawinski started the game and pitched all but the final out of the ball game. He did not allow a hits and struck out 15 Mason batters in the win. His only blemishes on an otherwise perfect outing were one walk and a hit batsman. Senior Tate Ledbetter took over for Slawinski in the seventh inning, threw one pitch and completed the combined no-hitter for Johnson City.
“Slawinski threw the ball really well for us tonight,” Eickenloff said. “Other than some miscues in the field and areas that we’ve got to clean up, we played a really good game.”
Slawinski and Ledbetter found success at the plate as well, with each hitting a home run. Ledbetter’s two run shot in the sixth inning was his first of the season and earned him the team lead in RBIs against Mason, driving in two runs. Sophomore Jaggar Slawinski, Fry and sophomore Wyatt Denbow drove in the other three runs of Johnson City’s 6-0 win.
“Really good opponent right here that we beat,” Eickenloff said. “We’re going to take it today and we’re going to move forward.”
An area of emphasis for coach Eickenloff so far this season has been the team’s attention to detail. While Johnson City has won every district game to this point, the win over Mason was more in line with the team’s philosophy.
“I saw the little things that can beat you in the playoffs,” Eickenloff said. “The little things that could beat you against a team like Mason that we weren’t executing against Goldthwaite, we executed tonight.”
The Eagles have seven district games remaining in the season. After finishing the series against Mason, there are two games each against Center Point, San Saba and Harper as Johnson City prepares for the playoffs. The Eagles wrapped up the series with Mason at home after press time Tuesday before travelling to Marble Falls on March 28 and Del Valle on April 1 for two non-district matchups.
