After pulling off a pair of upsets, Strike Zone Baseball’s Cinderella run through the first two rounds of the Connie Mack World Series hit a speed bump Tuesday night.
The Farmington-based Strike Zone Baseball failed to record a hit and fell 9-0 to the Dallas Tigers at Ricketts Park in Farmington in the third round of the 52nd CMWS, the top amateur baseball tournament in the country for players 18-and-younger.
Dallas used three pitchers to combine for the no-hitter, the third in two days at this year’s CMWS.
Lawrence Mayberry, a 2016 Durango High School graduate and Seward County (Kansas) Community College commit, was Strike Zone’s starting pitcher Tuesday night.
The 5-foot-8, 165-pound right-hander competed with his usual grit but came out on the losing end after pitching six innings. He gave up nine hits, one walk and five earned runs while striking out two before being relieved by Dylan Begay in the seventh inning trailing 6-0.
Mayberry got off to a quick start with a perfect top of the first inning that required only 12 pitches. But Dallas pitcher Russell Smith was better all night, as he got through the first inning unscathed in only 10 pitches.
Smith threw five innings and didn’t allow a hit while walking one and hitting a batter with a pitch.
Mayberry took the mound in front of more than 6,000 fans who are fired up after Strike Zone pulled off a 2-1 upset win in Round 1 against the 2012 CMWS champion Southern California Renegades. Strike Zone backed up that performance with a 5-3 win Monday night in Round 2 against EnFuego Elite of Seattle. Mayberry scored and earned a run batted in to help Strike Zone win that game.
Catching for Mayberry was 2016 Bayfield High School graduate Kelton McCoy, who will attend the University of New Mexico in the fall.
The third inning was particularly difficult for Strike Zone. Dallas recorded four consecutive hits and scored three runs.
With the win, Dallas advanced to face a perennial favorite in the East Cobb Yankees of Marietta, Georgia, at 5:15 p.m. Wednesday. Dallas and East Cobb are the only two teams still unbeaten in the 12-team double-elimination tournament.
Strike Zone fell into the loser’s bracket and will play again at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday in an elimination game against D-BAT Robertson, a 17-and-under elite team from the Dallas area.
The other loser’s bracket game features the SoCal Renegades against the Midland (Ohio) Redskins at noon. Midland has won more CMWS titles than any other program.
jlivingston@durangoherald.com
