(Victoria) — A walk-off grand slam by Derek Vasquez in the bottom of the seventh inning lifted Falfurrias to a 6-5 victory over Marion in game one of the Class 3A Division I Region IV semifinal Thursday at Victoria Riverside Stadium.
The Bulldogs carried a 5-2 lead into the final half-inning before Vasquez ended it with one swing. Falfurrias put its first two batters on via walks to open the seventh, and a bloop single by Colton Ramirez loaded the bases to set up the decisive blow.
Marion took an early lead in the first inning on a two-out RBI single by Kade Pape, who drove home Eli Parker after Parker had led off with a walk. Parker scored again in the fifth as Marion extended its advantage to 3-2, capitalizing on three walks, an error, and two wild pitches.
Parker added a two-RBI triple in the sixth to push the lead to 5-2 — what would prove to be the Bulldogs’ final runs of the game. The Marion shortstop finished 2-for-3 with two runs scored and two RBIs.
Huck Schoenvogel started on the mound for Marion and turned in a quality start, going six innings and allowing two runs on three hits with six strikeouts. Jack Wells relieved in the seventh and was charged with the loss.
Falfurrias leads the best-of-three series 1-0. The Bulldogs will look to rebound in game two and keep their season alive on Friday in game two.
We’ll have the game on KWED. First pitch is at 6 p.m. from Victoria Riverside Stadium. Our Marion playoff baseball pregame starts at 5:50 p.m. on Friday on AM 1580 and streaming at SeguinToday.com.
If the Bulldogs force a game three, it will take place Saturday at 12:30 p.m. at Riverside Stadium. We’ll also have that game on KWED.