Jesuit Dallas closed the Highland Park Classic with a Saturday Split, dispatching state-ranked No. 14 Flower Mound, 3-2 before dropping the tournament finale to Denton Guyer, 17-3. The Rangers, ranked No. 12 in the state according to
TXHighSchoolBaseball.com, conclude the six-game tournament with a 3-3 record and enter district play with an 11-4 mark over three weeks of non-district play.
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Senior and reigning Ranger of the Week
Tyler Murrah improved to 3-0 on the year with his third consecutive complete-game effort, striking out nine batters while allowing two runs on seven hits. Through three starts in 2018, Murrah has only allowed two runs through 19 innings and has struck out 27 batters for a 0.74 earned run average.
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Sophomore
Jalon Mack, junior
Garrett Reuben and senior
Luke Przybylski drove in the runs for the Rangers while Mack and Reuben scattered two hits apiece. Against Denton Guyer, senior
Paul Gramling drove in two runs and junior
Caden Carlson picked up an RBI, but the Rangers could not overcome a 10-run deficit in the first inning.
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How it Happened – Flower Mound
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- Flower Mound threatened in the top of the second after a leadoff double, but Murrah was able to force the final two outs of the inning with a man at third to keep the contest scoreless. The Rangers got on the board in the bottom of the fourth as Mack cashed in on a leadoff walk to Przybylski with a single to right field to snap the tie.
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- Przybylski drove in Jesuit's second run with two outs in the fifth. After Gramling reached first base on a walk, the senior laced a single to right to score Gramling and spot the Rangers a 2-0 lead. A leadoff double by Flower Mound in the top of the sixth ended Murrah's shutout bid, but the Jaguars left another runner stranded in scoring position to end the frame.
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- In the bottom of the sixth, Mack earned another walk and moved to second on a passed ball before scoring on a double to left center by Reuben to give the Rangers a critical insurance run heading into the final inning.
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- Flower Mound scored in the top of the seventh off of a double to left center, but a game-ending strikeout from Murrah shut the door once again on the Jaguars with the game-tying runner in scoring position.
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How it Happened – Denton Guyer
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- Denton Guyer jumped on the Rangers for 10 runs on eight hits and a pair of Ranger errors in the opening inning before increasing the lead to 14 in the top of the second. Jesuit got on the board in the bottom of the inning when a ball up the middle by Carlson scored sophomore Tanner Jones to close the Wildcat shutout bid.
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- Gramling laced a double into center field in the bottom of the third to score seniors Maccoy Lopez and Bijan Kamalipour to move Jesuit's run total up to three, but 17 runs scored by Guyer in the first three innings proved too much to overcome as the Wildcats closed the game in the fifth inning.
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Inside the Box Score
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- Jesuit Dallas finished the six-game tournament with a .333 batting average, averaging 5.2 runs per game. Lopez led the team with a .421 batting average while Kamalipour cracked two home runs in the weekend opener against Sachse to finish with a .765 slugging percentage and a team-leading seven RBI.
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- On the mound, Murrah and junior Quin Bowring tied for the team lead with nine strikeouts while Will Gibbins appeared in four games, throwing 4.2 total innings of work with four strikeouts while holding opponents to a .188 batting average.
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- The Rangers will head into the district campaign unbeaten while allowing five or fewer runs to opponents and a 9-2 mark when scoring first. In addition, Jesuit is unbeaten this season when leading after four innings.
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Up Next
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Jesuit Dallas will open the district season at the CISD Baseball Complex on Tuesday, Mar. 13 against reigning district champion Coppell. The Rangers and Cowboys are set for a 7:30 p.m. first pitch on Tuesday before the series concludes on Friday, Mar. 16 at 7:30 p.m. inside the friendly confines of Wright Field.