PHOTO: Matt Smith
By Brian Gosset
X – @gosset41
X – @gmsportsmedia1
ARLINGTON – Senior Savion Sims, one of the top players in the country, tossed 8 strikeouts and held Argyle Liberty Christian in check during Plano Prestonwood’s 6-1 win in a TAPPS D1 baseball semifinal on Monday at UT-Arlington’s Clay Gould Ballpark.
The Lions (30-3) will play in the champ game at 9 am on Tuesday.
Sims, a 6-8 Oklahoma commit, punched out a pair of Warriors in the bottom of the 7th inning for his 7th and 8th strikeouts to end the contest. He allowed 8 hits and walked 3.
The first 4 Lions reached base in the top of the 1st inning with back-to-back singles, a walk and a hit by pitch to Aiden Moffitt that scored Junior Kniffen for a 1-0 lead.
Prestonwood extended the lead 1 batter later on a passed ball that brought home Jake Felsman.
The bases were still loaded with 2 outs before Liberty Christian pitcher Benjamin Brown got the strikeout.
Prestonwood led 3-0 in the 2nd on an RBI single from Trent Vilade to right field.
The Warriors (28-11-1) got their only run in the bottom of the 5th following a Lucas Arnold double and Drake Hawpe RBI single to center. Hawpe is a 2027 LSU commit.
Lash Henderson hit a 1-out triple in the Prestonwood 6th and scored following a Liberty Christian balk.
Moffitt drove in a run in the 7th and a second balk on the Warriors pitching staff made it a 6-1 lead for the Lions.
Prestonwood defeated Liberty Christian earlier in the season and also ended its year in the semifinals last season, a 6-4 win in 10 innings. The Lions, however, would lose 2-0 against San Antonio Central Catholic in the TAPPS D1 title game.
