FORT WORTH – The Weatherford Kangaroos baseball team advanced to the regional quarterfinals for the first time since 2016, upsetting the No. 2 Keller Indians. The regional quarterfinal best-of-three series took place at Chisholm Trail High School and went the distance.
After splitting the first two contests, Weatherford sent its ace, Oklahoma University signee Kannon Kemp, to the mound to close out the series. He did just that with a dominant performance coupled with timely hitting to secure a pivotal Game 3 by a final score of 7-3. The Kangaroos took Game 1 by a final score of 3-1 and fell 9-0 in Game 2.
The complete-game performance by junior pitcher Will Jordan was key in the series victory for Weatherford. He allowed seven hits, surrendered one run and struck out three Keller batters to help his team take the critical series opener.
“The Game 1 win was huge for the confidence of our guys,” Kangaroos head coach Jason Lee said. “They showed we can play with the top teams in the state. Will did a fantastic job on the mound keeping them off balance and making key pitches in big situations. We had some really nice plays defensively early on by Tanner Mullins in left field and Colton McClure at Shortstop. Then Will was pretty dominant the rest of the game – he put us in a great situation for Saturday.”
Kemp and sophomore shortstop Colton McClure each had an RBI single in the bottom of the for Weatherford as the Kangaroos jumped out early.
The low-scoring affair was followed by a dominant performance by Keller in Game 2. The second game of the series was supposed to take place at 3:15 p.m. Thursday, but it was moved to Friday due to lightning and inclement weather in the area. Despite that, the Indians completed a 9-0 victory to even the series at one game apiece.
The Indians pitching staff limited Weatherford to three hits in the contest, but Keller was not able to pull away until a late six-run sixth inning put the contest effectively out of reach. In spite of that, Lee felt his team was confident and ready for whatever they faced in the rubber match.
“Our guys have been resilient all year long and just keep fighting, they don’t know any other way,” Lee said. “They had a great attitude between games, and you could tell they still believed in each other. JT Cienega got a huge hit in the third to score our first run and Wyatt Perdue and Colton McClure had big two-out hits to put us up 5-0. I can’t say enough about Omar Juarez’s performance at the plate – he just gets big hit after big hit for us. Then, Kannon Kemp was great on the mound shutting down Keller. Kemp has been our guy on the mound all year and today was no different.”
Game 3 followed 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2, and it was all Weatherford from the start with Kemp on the bump. He delivered 6.1 innings with six strikeouts while surrendering six hits, three runs and three walks. McClure worked around a bases-loaded jam in the seventh inning to help secure the win for the Roos.
Meanwhile, the Kangaroo bats gave Kemp plenty of scoring with a five-run third inning along with insurance runs in the fourth and sixth innings, respectively. Juarez led the charge on offense with a 3-for-4 performance from the plate with a double, three RBI and one run scored, while senior catcher Wyatt Perdue had an RBI single in the third that drove in two runs.
With a regional semifinal matchup against Flower Mound looming, Weatherford has been experiencing a high level of success at the same time as the Weatherford College Coyotes, who have ties to the high school and are advancing to the NJCAA World Series for the first time in program history.
“Yes, I think it is really cool to see Weatherford College being successful as well as the high school,” Lee said. “It has been fun watching them compete all year, and I wish them the best in Grand Junction. I will be following them and former Kangaroo player Dayton Tockey. There has been a lot of great baseball in Weatherford this year.”
The Roos will square off against Flower Mound, who swept the Allen Eagles in the regional quarters, in a best-of-three regional semifinal series with all games taking place at Dallas Baptist University. Game 1 will happen at 7 p.m. Friday with Game 2 to follow at noon Saturday. If necessary, Game 3 will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2.
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