The magic season for the West Plains Wolves keeps growing.
In just a few short years as a program, West Plains has already reached new heights, and now the Wolves are headed to the UIL Class 4A Division I regional finals after surviving a dramatic two-game sweep of Springtown at the Midland Greenwood Baseball Complex.
The Wolves edged Springtown 5-4 in game one Thursday before winning a wild slugfest 12-10 on Friday to clinch the series and continue the deepest playoff run in school history.
Now comes a rematch that has been waiting a full year to happen.
West Plains (29-7) will face Mineral Wells in the regional finals after the Rams ended the Wolves’ season in last year’s regional semifinal playoff. This time, the two teams will meet in a best-of-three series at Lubbock Cooper beginning Friday at 6 p.m. Game two is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m., with a third game to follow if needed.
The Wolves showed two very different ways to win against Springtown.
In Thursday’s opener, West Plains leaned on timely hitting and just enough pitching to escape with a one-run victory. The Wolves built a 5-0 lead behind key offensive moments from Urijah Barrera and Reid Macon. Barrera delivered an RBI triple in the fifth inning before later scoring on a Macon single.
Springtown refused to go quietly, cutting into the deficit with three unearned runs in the sixth inning. The Porcupines added more pressure in the seventh after an RBI double trimmed the lead to 5-4, but reliever Ethan Griffin shut the door to secure the save and preserve the win.
If game one was tense, game two turned into complete chaos.
Springtown stormed ahead 5-1 in the third inning and appeared ready to force a decisive third game. Instead, West Plains answered immediately with four runs in the bottom half of the inning, highlighted by an electrifying inside-the-park home run from Noah Vasquez.
The momentum swings kept coming.
After Springtown regained a 7-5 lead in the fourth, the Wolves responded with a massive five-run inning to take control for good. West Plains showed patience at the plate during the rally, drawing three straight bases-loaded walks to grab a 10-7 advantage.
The Porcupines continued to threaten throughout the game, collecting 17 hits and forcing West Plains to use five different pitchers. But despite the pressure, the Wolves consistently found answers when they needed them most.
That resilience has become the trademark of this postseason run.
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