A three-run, seventh inning home run from sophomore Brennan Frickel lifted the Dripping Springs Tigers to a wild come-from-behind 9-6 walk-off win over the McCallum Knights.
The win further improved the Tigers playoff positioning heading into the final few games of the regular season.
McCallum got on the board initially by scoring two first inning runs. The Tigers responded with a run-scoring single from RJ Cabela. However, McCallum battled back with four more runs to take a 6-1 advantage heading into the fourth frame.
Dripping Springs slowly crawled back into contention over the next three-plus frames.
After working the bases loaded, Tiger Ty Kaatz scored in the bottom of the forth inning on a fielder’s choice play. Dripping Springs’ Chris Tyree drove in a run via an RBI sacrifice fly, scoring Nico Ramirez to cut the Knight lead to 6-3 in the fifth inning.
Cabela took over on the mound in the fifth and kept the ever-dangerous Knights off the board through the final few innings.
Dripping Springs came roaring back in the sixth when Tiger Zach Tjelmeland laced a double to left that scored Brennan Frickel. Tyree blasted an RBI double to right field to tie the game up.
Following a series of good at bats in the bottom of the seventh frame, Frickel came to the plate with two outs and runners on first and second.
Frickel came through in the clutch and blasted a hanging curveball over the left field wall for a three-run walk off home run. Head coach Chris Payne was proud of how his team handled a tough situation.
“This was the closest we’ve had to a playoff atmosphere,” Payne said. “We just continued to grind and never thought we were out of it. Hopefully it catapults us going into next week and into the playoffs.”
It was also an important night for the Tigers as they honored 7-year-old Will Allen, who they are supporting in his receovery from a spinal cord injury. Both teams donned orange socks for Allen.
Payne gave a lot of credit to Allen, who has meant a lot to the Tiger pogram.
“They wanted to win for each other,” Payne said. “He made the stars align for us this evening.”
Tyree and Frickel finished with three runs batted in. RJ Cabela pitched three scoreless innings and was the winning pitcher. As a team the Tigers scored nine runs on seven hits.
The 18-9-1 Tigers are currently in second in District 25-5A. Dripping Springs plays Austin Northeast (formerly Reagan) High on the road Friday to close the regular season.
