By Greg Ford
Sports Editor
DALLAS — Head coach Chris Burrow said throwing strikes is key to winning any contest. For the most part, the Mustangs did that in 2015, enough to earn a second-place finish in District 11-6A.
However, during this past weekend’s bi-district series with Killeen Harker Heights, that part of the game got away from Sachse, especially in Game 2 at Jesuit, and the result was a 7-2 loss in Game 1 and 11-6 in eight innings during the second contest.
The latter loss was particularly frustrating because Sachse, the home team, led 6-4 going into the top of the seventh, but gave up the tying runs on walks.
“It’s about throwing strikes,” Burrow said. “You have to throw strikes. You’ve got to work from ahead. You’ve got to throw strikes.”
Sachse entered Saturday’s contest, which had been moved from Sachse, needing a win to stay alive. Had the Mustangs prevailed, the series’ third and deciding game would have been played 30 minutes after the second contest’s conclusion.
Harker Heights won Game 1 at its home field behind some solid hitting and Daniel Cole’s pitching, with the latter striking out 12 and also homering.
The first-round loss ends a season that Sachse entered with uncertainty, primarily because of the graduation of so many players from the 2014 district champion.
“I think we did better than what some people thought we might,” Burrow said. “I think especially in district, considering we were replacing a pitching staff, an infield and doing all that stuff. I thought we did a good job. We just didn’t make the plays (in the playoff).”
The coach added he’ll lose just three players to graduation, so the 2016 version of the Mustangs should be good and ready to compete again.
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