Faltine in charge as Tigers edge Deer in series opener
SWEENY — Unlike at the state tournament, where most baseball teams start their No. 1 pitcher in the semifinal to have the chance to play for a title, it has been the opposite formula for Travis in its playoff run.
The Tigers have held ace Ryan Rickett out of series openers. A Game 1 loss means Rickett could help even the series, while an opening win saves the righthanded senior for a winner-take-all Game 3.
It has worked, but not only because Rickett is undefeated in the playoffs. Sophomore Trey Faltine has been just as good, improving to 4-0 in the postseason after leading Travis to a 3-2 victory over Deer Park on Thursday night to open their Class 6A Region III final series.
It didn’t come without a little stress. Deer Park (31-8) scored twice in its final at-bat and had the goahead runner at first base when Tigers center fielder Dominic Cox caught Reece Moon’s fly ball to end the game.
“Just concentration and focus in that last inning,” said Faltine, who retired 11 straight batters until allowing a one-out single to Josiah Ortiz in the seventh. “I had that 3-0 lead and kind of lost track of my mind there for a little bit. Got away from my legs and tried to throw all arm right there.
“When you get deep in that ballgame, it’s all about your legs, getting through that pitch, and keeping your mechanics right.”
Faltine struck out seven and didn’t allow a baserunner past second base until the seventh. He worked around trouble early, stranding a pair of Deer in the second inning and another runner in the third.
“He just dominated through six innings, then ran into a stress inning right there in the seventh,” Travis coach Rodney Hernandez said. “But most of the time, he starts off a little bit slow in the first and second, and then he starts grooving and gets into it.”
Faltine also started the offense, lining a one-out triple into the right-field corner in the third inning. Cox followed, lifting a short fly between a backpedaling Blaine Holden and right fielder Kolton Fowler. Each paused, and the result was Fowler’s dropping the ball. Courtesy runner Bo Hoeffken scored on the error, and Rickett added an RBI single as Travis sent seven batters to the plate.
After back-to-back singles started the Travis fourth, an errant pickoff attempt allowed runners to move up to second and third. Cole Turney, who started the inning, scored on a fielder’s choice to put the Tigers (32-6) up 3-0.
“Too little too late,” Deer Park coach Chris Rupp said. “Made a couple mistakes, and you can’t make mistakes against a good pitcher like that. The kid was throwing the ball good, and he pretty much handled us until the last inning.”
The series moves to Crosby, with both teams going with artificial turf fields to help with the impending rain in the forecast for much of the weekend.
Game 2 begins at 7:30 p.m. Friday. If the Deer even the series, the finale will be at 3 p.m. Saturday.
Connor Lee will start for Travis opposite Clay Aguilar on Friday, keeping the Tigers on schedule thanks to Faltine.
“The pressure is on me to get that done,” Faltine said of pitching the series opener. “I like that pressure. I like that feeling.”