ROUND ROCK, Texas — Abbott Baseball is packing their bags and leaving Dell Diamond with a very different outcome from last season, after taking home their first state title since 2017 last year.
A run rule finish isn't what the Panthers had in mind when they punched their ticket to the state semis for the third straight year.
14 walks and nine runs on walks or wild pitches was a struggle on the mound that translated to the scoreboard.
In the bottom of the second, Fayetteville knocked in eight to take a big time lead early on, but the Panthers came crawling their way back with three in the top of the third.
The Lions then took advantage of struggles on the mound, snagging 10 more in the bottom of the third.
And soon enough, the wheels just fell off. Fayetteville racked in 19 total runs compared to just six for Abbott, run ruling the Panthers in the state semifinals.
For Abbott head coach Kyle Crawford, it's a feeling that definitely stings because the issue was simple.
"It starts and stops with throwing strikes," Crawford said. "When we started, early on that was our nemesis. We hope it doesn't show up in Dell Diamond, but it did. That's baseball and that's the way it goes sometimes. We've got hammered down here before but it felt different. We just got blitzed like a really good team. That part is sickening to out-hit somebody and feel like you played better defense to then get run ruled, but that's life."
Good news for the Panthers, Crawford said that when they took their senior picture before the game, there was only one guy in the photo. Brady Schulz is the sole senior graduating this season, so a stacked Abbott team is only loading for next year.
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