ROUND ROCK, Texas — The London Pirates thrived on the big stage at the Dell Diamond Friday morning in their first trip to the UIL State Class 3A semifinals.
The Pirates charged back from an early deficit to claim a 7-2 victory over Brock in the first semifinal game at the Dell Diamond.
London blew the game open with a six-run second inning as they charge into Saturday's championship game against Malakoff, which claimed a 4-3 triumph over Gunter in the other Class 3A state semifinal Friday afternoon.
The championship game will be at 9 a.m. Saturday at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock.
That rally supported the strong work of winning pitcher Kade Budd, who limited Brock to two hits, struck out 10 and retired 16 straight batters at one point of the game.
First baseman Landon Salinas drove in three runs to pace the offensive efforts of London (33-5-1).
Brock jumped to a quick 2-0 lead in the first, utilizing its speed to score both runs against Budd. The first run came on a double steal and the second one on a straight steal of home by Jaxon Gleaton, who stole three bases in the inning.
Carson Lightfoot, an Angelo State commit, started for Brock but was chased in the second inning by the London rally that gave them the lead for good.
London pulled within 2-1 in its first inning on a two-out RBI-single by Salinas.
The Pirates went ahead in the second on a two-running single by Mason Arispe, claiming a 3-2 lead. Arispe later scored in the inning by stealing second, advancing to third on a wild pitch and scoring on Budd's swinging bunt single.
After a pitching change, Salinas greeted Dusty Baker with a two-run double and another error on a pop fly produced the final run of the big uprising.
Brock, a district in North Texas southwest of Fort Worth, was making its first trip to state finals since 2018 and sixth trip overall.
The Eagles drop to 31-11-1 with the loss.
