The Waxahachie Indians outhit Mansfield High on Tuesday night, but the Indians committed five costly errors, had a sudden bout with wildness on the mound and allowed six runs in a disastrous top of the seventh inning, leading to an 8-5 loss to the Tigers in District 11-6A play at the Midkiff Athletic Complex.
The game was relocated from Richards Park to the turf field at the high school because of unplayable field conditions at the historic grounds.
The Indians (12-6, 1-2) finished with nine hits, while Jared Thomas pitched a four-hitter over 6 2/3 innings in the tough-luck loss. Of Mansfield’s eight runs charged to Thomas, all but one were unearned.
Jacob Cruz was 2-for-3 with two RBI for WHS, while Anthony Mata had a two-run double and Thomas helped his own cause with a double.
The Indians led through the first six innings, taking a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first on Mata’s two-run double and a 4-1 advantage after two on a Cruz RBI hit and a passed ball allowing courtesy runner Westin Herrell to score from third.
WHS added one more tally to make it 5-2 in the home half of the sixth as Cruz’s sacrifice fly scored Herrell, and things were looking good headed into the seventh. But a bases-loaded walk with two outs set the stage for the Tigers’ big inning, and they scored six runs on a single, five walks and three hit batters issued by three WHS hurlers in total.
The Indians were scheduled to return to action on Friday night at Waco High and will return home to step out of district play against Red Oak on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Richards Park. They will drive to DeSoto for a district contest on Tuesday at 7 p.m. to end the month of March.