FRISCO, Texas (KFDA) - West Plains baseball’s season ended Friday with a 10-0 loss to Pleasant Grove in the state semifinals at Riders Field.
Pleasant Grove scored twice in the first inning. Spencer Browning doubled to center field and Jace Elrod hit a sacrifice fly. Elijah Vasquez made a catch in left field on a deep fly ball while Browning, an Arkansas commit, tagged from third to score.
The Hawks added three runs in the second inning. Trevor Hendershott singled down the left field line and Walker Wright came around to score. Vasquez attempted to throw Wright out at home but the ball arrived late. Landon Fincher tripled down the right field line and Hunter Rose added a sacrifice fly.
Pitching change for West Plains
Reid Macon relieved Noah Vasquez after two innings. The senior recorded three strikeouts, including one against Blue Rose on a called third strike.
Pleasant Grove scored twice in the third inning on RBI singles by Christian May and Wright.
ADVERTISEMENT
Macon, who led West Plains at the plate with two hits in two at bats from the seven spot, threw four innings of relief for West Plains, surrendering seven hits and four runs with three strikeouts and four walks.
Vasquez allowed six runs, four earned, on five hits over two innings.
The defeat ended West Plains’ season in the state semifinals with 15 seniors concluding their high school careers.
Reflecting on the season
Head coach Colby Chandler said he was proud of what the senior class accomplished.
“I’m super proud of this season, super proud of these seniors and what they’ve done for our school and our community and just the legacy that they left and what they were able to accomplish as a group,” Chandler said. “Not just in baseball, but everything they’ve done, super proud of that and that accomplishment. Excited that we got our program on the map. Obviously we wanted to continue playing. We wanted to go play for it all and that’s always the goal and just fell short of that this year,” he said.
ADVERTISEMENT
The coach said the seniors bought into the program’s vision over four years.
“These seniors, they’ve been with us for four years and they’re just bought in. They’re bought into what we do at West Plains, they’re bought into just helping their school in any way possible,” Chandler said. “The straight baseball guys, the multi-sport guys, they’re just completely bought in and sold out to what we do as a school and as a program.”
Chandler said the message to underclassmen was clear.
“You learned from this, you enjoyed this ride with us, now let’s go to work and let’s find a way to get back here and go one step further and let’s go play for a state championship,” he said.
Building through multiple sports
Chandler credited the school’s multi-sport approach for the program’s success.
“It all started with Coach [Adam] Cummings coming in and having the vision that he had. We’re going to have guys that come in and be multi-sport guys, and those are the guys that came in and really, they were the heart of each of those teams,” Chandler said. “The guys that were with them that maybe just played baseball or maybe just played basketball or maybe just played football, they bought into it too.”
Chandler said the year-round work ethic became a school mindset.
“The key is, there was no off season. We just worked all year long, and that was a mindset that we started the school with. It’s just continued to pay off in every sport,” he said.
“The season was a grind. As every long baseball season is, it’s a grind. It starts in January and ends in June is the goal, and we’re right there. We played all but one week that we could have played, and so it is a grind, but at the end of the day, [I] wouldn’t trade it for anything,” Chandler said. “These guys just they showed up for work each and every single day.”
Seniors look back on journey
Senior Reid Macon said playing at the state level with his childhood teammates was special.
ADVERTISEMENT
“It’s definitely remarkable knowing that we’ve got a bunch of guys who grew up playing baseball together and can come and play at the state level. We’ve done it in every sport, and I’m super grateful for our coaches, and we know that they want to push us to be the best we can be,” Macon said.
Macon said faith played a role in the team’s success.
“It’s pretty crazy to know that it’s not just us, but God’s in control, and we know that what He’s doing is pretty special. The guys, the coaches who He put in all of our lives made us better and made us to where we are today,” he said.
The senior said the team’s bond was key to their success.
“We always stuck together, no matter what. No matter the hardships we faced in each and every season and even in school, we always stuck together and we always counted on each other to make good decisions and make the right choice when the time came and come up in big moments,” Macon said. “I’m super grateful for all those guys and for everyone who grew up around with me and along with each other and knowing that we did this in the four-year stretch is pretty cool.”
Macon said putting West Plains on the map was meaningful.
“We’ve got a really good group and I’m so grateful that each and all those guys are able to do it in every sport, and to put West Plains on the map is pretty cool because not many people know schools from the Panhandle. Everybody’s talking about the DFW, East Texas, Houston area, and we were lucky enough to have a good group of guys to put West Plains on the map in the Panhandle,” he said.
Senior Boston Ladd said the journey meant everything to him.
“This program was nothing four years ago and we started that, we came in. This group of guys is someone that I’ve grown up with my whole life, so just being able to do it with them means everything. The end is pretty sad whenever that happens and I just love them and I love to be a part of this team,” Ladd said.
Ladd said the team’s rapid success was remarkable.
“Coach Chandler shared with us the other night it took the other two [Canyon ISD] schools a lot longer than it did us, so just to be able to do that in four years and to be able to do it with this group of guys is just amazing. Nowhere else I’d rather be than at the state semis with my best friends and my family,” he said.
The senior said reaching the final four in multiple sports was significant.
“Every year, you look at the state playoff bracket and you see those final four teams, and you know that those teams are really good. So, just to be able to do it within four years and in all three sports just means everything. It’s pretty awesome to be able to leave that legacy behind. The kids coming up after us know that West Plains is somewhere we’re going to thrive and we’re going to win, and we expect that,” Ladd said.
Ladd said the loss will fuel him moving forward.
“Losing hurts, so [I’ll] definitely take this experience and go work hard and get ready for my next season, and then just take all these moments that we’ve made and memories that we’ve made, just knowing to not take them for granted in the next season of life, and to just know that we’re all here for each other and we can fall back on each other. It’ll be fun in a couple of years to get to catch up and talk about this season,” he said.
Copyright 2026 KFDA. All rights reserved.