Instead of taking a night off during its District 28-2A bye, the Mason High School baseball team crushed the San Angelo Homeschool Saints 11-1 March 18.
It was the Punchers' first opponent since beating Goldthwaite March 4. Their contest against Sonora, scheduled for March 11, was canceled.
'So it was good to knock that rust off,' head coach Jay Immel said.
Kalen Langehennig was the winning pitcher on two innings of work. Other pitchers included Gustavo Valdez and Trevor Loeffler.
'All three pitched well,' head coach Jay Immel said.
Offensively, Ray Row highlighted the scoring thanks to a three-run homer.
After the win, the Punchers returned to district play where they lost to Johnson City 5-0 March 21.
The Eagles were led by senior pitcher Johnny Slawinski, who signed to play for Texas A&M during the early signing period.
Immel noted that several scouts were at the game with their radar guns pointed at Slawinski as it's believed his name will be called during the 2025 Major League Baseball Draft.
Slawinski finished with 15 strikeouts and allowed three hits and a walk. As a hitter, Slawinski started the game with a home run.
Mason's hits came from Hunter Bradley, Matthew King and Slade Buell.
'He's such an effective pitcher,' Immel said. 'He's the real deal. Those are reasons why he's a a Division I commit. He has a 97 mph fastball. Not many people see that.'
Immel added that he was happy with the performance of Mason's starting pitcher, Row, who went five and twothirds innings.
'He did a great job,' the coach said. 'They got a few hits.'
Grant Nobles relieved him and didn't allow a run.
When Row went to first base, he made a great play, Immel said.
Matthew King fielded a ground ball and threw to first. Row had to stretch and get the ball out of the dirt for the out.
'He made a heck of play,' Immel said. 'He almost did the splits and scooped that thing out at first. And that was with runners on. It was a great play.'
The Punchers travel to Center Point Friday, March 28 then welcome the Pirates Tuesday, April 1. Both games begin at 6:00 p.m.
