Frisco, TX – Game three of the 2022 Frisco Classic featured a match-up between Wichita State (3-7) and Washington State (7-3). Wichita State sent left-hander Payton Tolle, (1-0, 0.73) a freshman from Yukon Oklahoma, to the mound. Washington State countered with left-hander McKabe Cottrell (1-1, 3.48). Payton is making a case to be named to the All-Tournament team after his strong performance today. Today marked his 3rd start of the season and he has gone at least 6 innings in all three starts but pitched seven innings today.
The weather was perfect for baseball. The temperature was 71 degrees Fahrenheit, with a wind to the South of 18 mph at gametime. For a Saturday afternoon baseball game, there was a light crowd. Payton Tolle took the mound and looked calm and confident as he went through his pre-game routine.
Wichita State’s offense was able to knock in a couple of runs in the top of the 2nd and never looked back. They plated two more runs in the top of the 4th for a 4-0 lead. The Washington State Cougars plated their first run in the bottom of the 4th but weren’t able to score another run until the bottom of the 8th. Wichita added a run in the top of the 6th and then three runs in the top of the 9th.
In total they scored eight runs on eight hits while Washington State scored two runs on seven hits.
Three errors did not help the Washington State Cougars but they only led to one un-earned run.
More on Payton Tolle
Height: 6’6 | Weight: 250
He’s been our most consistent starter this year.
Eric WedgeI mentioned earlier that Payton Tolle is making a case to be named to the All-Tournament team. This might help you agree with that assessment. Tolle, 20, is a two-way player, he pitches and hits. In yesterday’s game, he was the DH for Wichita and went 2-4 with with 3 RBI. What he is doing in this early part of the season is quite impressive and we’re now going to be following him more closely this season.
In High School he attended Bethany High School in Bethany, OK. He started all four years and was varsity captain in his sophomore, junior and senior years. He set a school record with 106 strikeouts as a senior. Also, Perfect Game ranked him as the number one first baseman in Oklahoma.
After the game, Shockers coach Eric Wedge mentioned in the post-game press conference that Payton has great perspective.
With this win, the Shockers move to 4-7 and are 2-0 in the 2022 Frisco Classic. They have a chance to quite literally shock the 2022 Frisco Classic with a chance for the sweep against Texas A&M.
