Athlete of the Week: Lincoln East’s Thomas Fraley

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – The Carpet Land Rugs – Lincoln East Spartans – defeated Lincoln Southwest 4-0 Sunday to punch their ticket to the championship game of the Mike Peterson/Coach K legion baseball tournament.

Seven innings, two strikeouts on two hits was the final stat line for Rugs’ senior pitcher Thomas Fraley.

He said the win was needed after a tough week.

“We had to get back to what we know,” Fraley said. “Our pitchers are going to work, our bats are finding their life, and it’s just all coming together.”

The lefty said getting ahead in the count against Southwest was key.

“I was spotting on my fastball, I was landing my change up, and I was getting my curveball over for strikes,” Fraley explained.

Carpet Land would go on to defeat Papillion La-Vista 12-0 in the tournament championship.

Fraley is no stranger to pitching in the big game.

The senior helped the Spartans to the Class A championship game and carried an ERA under 2 in his final year at Lincoln East.

Fraley is headed to Emporia State University this fall, excited to play under head coach Brad Hill.

“It’s a nice campus,” Fraley said. “Love the coaches. Brad Hill’s been great to me, and I’m excited to just get down there, get to work.”

He plans to major in premed with the goal of getting into sports medicine.

“I’ve always wanted to help people,” Fraley said. “I’ve always known I’ve wanted to do something in the medical field, and I just want to be around the game.”