The Lexington Bulldogs were scheduled to be in Frederick on Monday, but the threat of severe weather canceled that game. They hosted Frederick for a doubleheader on Tuesday.

Last week, Lexington finished in 3rd place in the Heart of Oklahoma baseball tournament.

Drew Dierking was named to the All-Tournament team.

Crossings

They opened with a 2-0 win over Crossings, behind three hits. Seniors Zeke Faulkenberry and Skylar Rollins and junior Ryan Johnson each had a hit.

Johnson had Lexington’s lone RBI. He singled to score one of the Bulldogs’ two runs in the second inning. An error scored the other.

Rollins was on the mound for six innings. He struck out four and gave up just two hits. Kash Klupenger came on in relief. He struck out two batters.

“We played solid defense and Skylar pitched really well. He had a very low pitch count for six innings of work,” head coach Matt Dierking said.

Purcell

In their second game of the tournament, the Bulldogs came up one run short in a 5-4 loss to Purcell.

Lexington collected five hits in the loss, including two each from Faulkenberry and Dierking.

Dierking also had three RBIs.

“Boston Knowles pitched really well. We got hits on him late, but then they pulled him and by then it was too late to string some runs together,” Dierking said. 

It was “pitch by committee” in the loss. Faulkenberry went three innings. He struck out two and gave up three earned runs.

Klupenger came on in relief, striking out one and allowing two earned runs. Dierking finished the game for the final two-thirds inning. He struck out two.

Asher

That loss sent Lexington to the third place game where they beat Asher, 9-3.

Lexington got on board first, scoring one on a Klupenger single and another when Dierking stole home.

Asher tied it up with two runs in the bottom of the first.

Lexington retook the lead in the second inning when Dierking grounded out and scored two runs.

They added another run in the third when Faulkenberry singled to score one.

Lexington stretched their lead with two more runs in both the fourth and fifth innings.

“We strung together a bunch of good innings. Drew pitched well; he had a complete game. And, we hit the ball well against Asher.”

Asher pushed one run across in the seventh, but that was all she wrote.

Faulkenberry finished the game with a team-high three hits. Klupenger and Logan Carroll had two.

The Bulldogs had six RBIs in the win.

Dierking was on the mound all seven innings. He struck out seven and gave up just one earned run.

The Bulldogs will round out the week traveling to Lindsay on Thursday for a doubleheader. They will host Stratford on Friday, then travel to CHA on Saturday.

Postseason play has changed to a four team regional and assignments are expected to be released early next week.

“No matter where we land, the regional will be a challenge. We’re playing together as a team right now and playing all around good baseball – hitting and pitching well,” Dierking said.