By Joseph Krum
Staff Writer
@joseph_krum

Coppell baseball coach Kendall Clark leaned against the dugout fence at QuikTrip park in Grand Prairie, eyeing the fake infield dirt and then his starting pitcher, senior Jensen Elliott.

He saw as Elliot stared at the Flower Mound Marcus batter through his hat and glove, and went into his windup. From then on, Clark saw what Elliott does best. Dominate.

The overpowering pitching from Elliott started right from the beginning and finished through all seven innings, leading the Cowboys to their 2-0 win. He produced all three outs in the first inning, and added two more strikeouts in the second. After a one-two-three third inning, Elliott had a perfect game going for him, but it was broken up by a two-out single in the top of the fourth.

“[Elliott] was really great with his command tonight,” Clark said. “He had all of his three pitches working for him, and he was able to throw them for strikes. He was able to get ahead of almost every batter.”

Elliott, an Oklahoma State University baseball commit, had a similar outtake on how he was able to pitch so well.

“I overall had pretty good command with my pitches,” Elliott said. “I made sure to execute in every count and keep the hitters off-balance.”

As for how Coppell got its offense to put some numbers on the board was a different story. Struggling at first, the Cowboys made the most of their chances in the fifth inning with a bases-loaded fielder’s choice from junior centerfielder Myles Paschall and a well-executed bunt from sophomore shortstop Jacob Nesbit.

The final score, a 2-0 Cowboy win, gave Coppell the 1-0 lead in the three-game playoff series against Flower Mound Marcus. The next game is scheduled for tomorrow at 9:00 a.m. at a neutral site. And if needed, a third game will be played at 2:00 p.m. at a site to be determined.