Fayetteville Grabs State Baseball Silver
Lions Rally From Five Runs Down Falls Just Short in Title Game
Abbott – again.
For the second time in six years the only thing that stood between the Fayetteville Lions baseball team and another state title were those darn Abbott Panthers.
Back in 2017 Abbott beat the Lions 11-7 in an epic state title slugfest.
Thursday it was Abbott again taking the gold and Fayetteville silver. And this one may have been even more dramatic than that 2017 championship.
This time, Fayetteville trailed 5-0 going into the fifth inning before the Lions roared back to score five late runs before falling 6-5.
The loss snapped what had been a 13-game win streak for the Lions.
“It hurts to fall short, especially one run short. We woke up too late,” said Fayetteville senior catcher Logan Fritsch.
Down 6-3 going into their final half inning, Fayetteville brought seven guys to the plate to trim the lead to just one, and had the tying and winning runs on base with one out, before reliever Riley Sustala took the mound and retired the final two batters to clinch the win for Abbott.
“It’s pretty disappointing, but hats off to Abbott. They are a good team,” said Fayetteville head coach Clint Jaeger. “Somebody’s got to finish second.”
This game started rough for the Lions as Abbott got to freshman starting pitcher Jack Schley for four runs in the first two-plus innings. But only one of those runs was earned because of a pair of early Lions errors.
Junior Reid Gross relieved Schley with two on and no outs in the third. Abbott ended up batting around in that inning and the Panthers led 5-0 by the end of that frame.
Gross then tossed three scoreless innings before Abbott got an insurance run in the seventh that proved to be the game-winner.
Offensively, Fayetteville struggled early against Abbott starting pitcher Preston Pustejovsky, who ended up being the championship game MVP after throwing 6.1 innings of ball. The Lions were making solid contact but hitting everything in the air – 12 of their 21 outs Thursday were flyouts.
Finally in the fifth inning Fayetteville got on the scoreboard. Jake Kubala, Keagan Supak and Easton Jaeger all singled followed by sacrifice flys by Logan Fritsch and Travis Gully.
Down 6-3 going into the seventh inning, Fayetteville had one more rally in them – and it almost won them a state title.
“Over the years we’ve had some great comebacks – I was expecting another one,” Clint Jaeger said.
Supak started the seventh with a double and came home on a one-out single by Logan Fritsch. Senior Ty Knight pinch ran for Fritsch (who said after the game that he had played all season with a painful torn meniscus in his knee).
“I had to fight through it,” Fritsch said. “The people around me lifted me up. I had to do it for them.”
Running for Fritsch, Knight went to second when the Abbott shortstop bobbled a grounder off the bat of Travis Gully.
Gross singled to drive in Knight and Gully went to second. That was the end of the day for Pustejovsky, but Sustala relieved him throwing heat – and strikes – and he retired the final two batters to preserve the win.
Abbott (23-4) and their fans celebrated, and the Fayetteville Lions (20-7) were left thinking about what almost was.
Thursday’s loss does little to diminish what was a memorable 2023 season for the Lions, and they added to the legacy of what is fast becoming one of Texas’ most consistently excellent programs.
“It’s always an accomplishment to get here (to the state tournament),” Clint Jaeger.
“It’s very difficult to get here. Our goal is always to win it. That doesn’t mean we had an unsuccessful season. Over time they will see that. Right now they don’t but they will realize what they accomplished.”
Thursday’s game marked the end of the road for five Fayetteville seniors including back-ups Karson Corn and Ty Knight, and starting first baseman Parker Vitek, starting catcher Fritsch and starting shortstop Gully.
“We have a lot of young players, the future’s looking good. It’s hard to replace those seniors. We will, we always find a way, but it’s tough,” Clint Jaeger said. “They got one ring (from the 2021 title). Their goal was to win three.”
Last year D’Hanis kept Fayetteville from a return trip to state. This year the Lions got revenge over D’Hanis in the regional finals, and then kept going by beating Nazareth 4-0 in the state semis Wednesday.
But Abbott had title plans of its own.
Back in 2017 Abbott survived a six-run comeback by a Lions team that had a Schley, a Kubala and a Fritsch on it.
History repeated itself Thursday, with some of the same last names on both sides “It was a close game, but what can I say, that’s baseball,” said Gross, a junior who will be among the seven returning starters for the Lions next year. “I hope to see us back here again. I think we will be back here again – and we’ll get them next time.”