Central Catholic broke through to score 3 runs in the bottom of the 6th and then held on in the 7th to beat Concordia Lutheran 3-2 and capture the TAPPS Division I Baseball State Championship. Central sophomore shortstop Jason Herrera was named the Championship Game MVP. He was 2-3 with an RBI and run scored.

The game was scoreless through 5 innings as starting pitchers Eoghan Collins and Mike Sanchez held their opponents at bay. Concordia had runners on 3B twice early in the contest but Sanchez was able to get out of the innings with no runs.

Concordia Lutheran broke the 0-0 tie in the top of the 6th. Nolan Traeger led off the sixth with a line drive single to centerfield. With one out, Traeger stole second. Jackson Rhodes then singled to center scoring Traeger, giving Concordia the 1-0 lead.

With Collins on the mound, things looked good for Concordia. Though 5 innings, he had limited Central Catholic to just 2 hits on 4 Ks. But Central found a way to get some things going.

Shawn Rivera walked to start the inning. After a line out, Sunghoon Kim singled through the infield. That provided the opportunity for Jason Herrera. Herrera singled to left field scoring Rivera to tie the game at 1-1. After a strikeout, Rick Ramirez came to bat and he also singled to left field, scoring Kim and giving Central the 2-1 lead. A balk brought in Herrera and Central took a 3-1 lead into the 7th.

Concordia made the game exciting in the 7th. Cole Lanclos got on by an error, Ronin McCraw walked and Nolan Traeger got on base with a nicely laid bunt. With the bases loaded and no outs, Amescua was able to strike out the next batters. But he walked Hugh Wilhelm bringing in Lanclos to score and cutting the Central lead to 3-2. With the bases loaded, Amescua got a ground ball that Herrera nicely fielded and threw over to first to secure the win for Central Catholic.

“We’ve put in a lot of work and had lots of ups and downs,” Herrera explained. “But in the end we came out on top. We have a lot of heart. If things get down we don’t give up. We just keep fighting to the end.”

“Its a great feeling,” Head Coach Matt Flores stated. “These guys have been working hard since August. During off-season and during the season. They are grinders. They never give up. I really am proud of them. Hats off to Concordia. They are a great club and Coach Kennedy is one of my good friends. But it’s an unbelievable feeling to win here and I am excited for our players, for our school and our community.”

Concordia Lutheran scored 6 runs, all with two outs, and Connor Jones pitched an outstanding game as the Crusaders took down the nationally ranked Prestonwood Christian Academy team 6-0. Concordia Lutheran will now meet Central Catholic in the TAPPS Division I Title Game at noon on Wednesday.

Concordia jumped out with 4 big runs in the top of the 2nd. Hugh Wilhelm led off the inning with a double. After a pop out and strike out, Landon Martinez single to left field moving Wilhelm to third. Successive walks to Cole Lanclos and Ronin McCraw score Wilhelm. Nolan Traeger was hit by a pitch that brought in Martinez. Eoghan Collins stepped up next and singled on a shallow fly ball that scored Lanclos and McCraw and Concordia led 4-0.

Concordia picked up another in the top of the 5th. With two outs, Jackson Rhodes singled to left field. Rhodes advanced to second on a wild pitch. Rhodes then scored on a fly ball behind shortstop that was dropped in a crowd of players.

They picked up one more run in the top of the 7th. Wilhelm singled with 2 outs, moved to 2nd on a Kamryn Jockers walk and scored on dropped fly ball. That made it 6-0.

Meanwhile, Concordia pitcher Connor Jones was shutting down the Prestonwood offense. With a title game opportunity on the line, Jones went out in the 7th and got 2 ground outs and a strikeout to seal the victory. Jones pitched the complete game shut out giving up only 3 hits and no walks while striking out 9. He was named the THSB Division I Semifinal Game MVP.

“There was a lot of anticipation and a lot of preparation for this game,” Jones commented. “Our coach told us that we have had a tough schedule that would prepare us for this game. We were not going to back down. We were going to give it everything we had. And I think we did that.”

Head Coach Royce Kennedy shared his thoughts on the game: “This win was huge. The way our kids played tonight. We’re so young it’s like they don’t know any better. Connor Jones pitched an outstanding game. He was ahead in the count most of the night. And he stayed focused throughout the game. To be back in the championship game is awesome. And we are excited to be playing Central Catholic. It will be a great game no doubt.”

Central Catholic jumped on LSU signee Casan Evans early, picking up 3 runs that proved to be enough as the Buttons held on to beat St. Pius X 3-2 to move to the finals of the TAPPS Division I State Championship Game. Central Catholic was at the state tournament two years and lost to Prestonwood Christian Academy.

Central Catholic scored all 3 of their runs in the bottom of the 2nd. Brandon Hall was hit by a pitch and Obie Martinez walked. Juan Diego Amescua laid down a bunt to move the runners over. Hall scored on  a passed ball and then Martinez scored on a wild pitch. Garrett Ticer got things going again with a single and went to 3B on a Sunghoon Kim double. Ticer then scored the big 3rd run of the game on another wild pitch.

St. Pius X responded with a couple of runs of their own in the top of the 4th. Michael Peavy walked and Sean Marquez singled. Casan Evans singled over the shortstop to score Peavy. Marquez scored the 2nd run of the game on a Jorge Arcia ground ball.

The Central Catholic pitchers did not allow a run after that and held on for the win. Winning pitcher Timothy Segura went 4.1 innings giving up 2 unearned runs on 3 hits with 3 walks and 3 Ks. Samuel Garcia picked up the save with 2.2 IP, 0 hits, 1 walk and 2 runs.

Garrett Ticer was 2-3 with a run scored. He was named the THSB Division 1 Semifinal Game MVP.

“We came out hot and our energy was high,” Ticer described. “We all trust our pitching staff and they came through tonight. I’m super excited about tomorrow. My brother was here two years ago and we’re looking to bring it home this year.”

Head Coach Matt Flores commented on the game: “It was two really good teams getting after it. Two good pitching duels. We executed early, got to their pitcher early. We threw two arms at them and we came out on top. We played defense well and we threw strikes. It’s awesome to be in the championship game. We are happy to be here. We were here two years ago and we have some unfinished business.”

Second Baptist battled through adversity for most of the first half of the season but it all paid off today as they beat Southwest Christian 10-7 in a wild game to capture the 2024 TAPPS Division II Baseball State Championship. Sophomore 1B/P Christian McCleary was named the Division II Championship Game MVP. He was 2-3 with a double and 3 RBIs.

Southwest Christian scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the 2nd. Joshua Blanco got on base by an error and moved to 2nd base on a Grayson McKelvey single. Blanco then stole 3rd base. With no outs, Cooper Kirkpatrick grounded into a double play but Blanco scored. 1-0 Southwest Christian.

Second Baptist tied the game in the top of the 3rd. Andrew Clark and Jace Trozzo walked. Christian McClearly sacrificed them over. Wes Baker then got a ground ball to 1B that got Clark home with the run, tying it at 1-1.

Second Baptist broke the tie in the top of the 4th. Thomas Womble got an RBI single. Trozzo and Baker both drew a walk with the bases loaded. Second Baptist led 4-1.

Both teams would pick up one more run before the big innings hit. Southwest Christian got their run in the bottom of the 5th when Slaid Chandler sacrificed a run home cutting the lead to 4-2. Second Baptist got the run back in the 6th when McCleary hit an RBI double for a 5-2 Eagles lead.

Southwest Christian responded in a big way in the bottom of the 6th with three runs. Jackson Burns scored on a balk, Grayson McKelvey got a ground out RBI and Cooper Kirkpatrick hit an RBI double. Southwest Christian had tied the game at 5-5 going to the 7th.

That’s when Second Baptist responded in an even bigger way. They got runs on a Samuel Garcia RBI double, a Sameule Arrendell RBI bunt, a 2 RBI single by McCleary, and a Wes Baker RBI single. When the final out was made in the inning Second Baptist had a 10-5 lead.

But Southwest Christian would not go quietly. They scored two more runs in the bottom of the 7th on a Joshua Blanco bases loaded 2 RBI single. The tying run came to the plate before pitcher Thomas Womble struck out the last batter.

“We’ve been absolutely relentless this year,’ McCleary commented. “It’s one of the toughest teams I have ever been on. We’ve battled through injuries. Came in as the #4 seed. We got rolling at the right time and stuff went our way. We’ve worked really hard for this. It’s an amazing feeling to come away with the win.”

“The real difference in this game was starting pitcher Ethan Eschweiler,” Head Coach Rayner Noble explained. “We usually get just a couple of innings from him but today he gave us some strong innings. We usually have to piece together our pitching staff but he got us going in the right direction today.”

“This team rivals the toughest team I’ve ever coached. We were down and out about halfway through the season and we just came together and said ‘Let’s go and see what we can do.” You’ve got to give the credit to the kids. They all bought in. And our senior leadership was outstanding.”

The Brook Hill Guard got timely hitting and took advantage of Bay Area Christian miscues to win 9-2 and capture the TAPPS Division III State Championship. 3B Cooper Schock, who was 2-2 with a double, rbi and 3 runs, was named the Championship Game MVP by THSB.

Bay Area Christian’s Owen Townsend opened the game with a double and later scored on a Coen Gonzales single giving Bay Area Christian the early 1-0 lead. However, Brook Hill responded with 3 runs of their own in the bottom half of the inning. They loaded the bases on an error and 2 walks. Braxton Durrett came up and singled home 2 runs. Lex Rich later scored on an error to make it 3-1 in favor of Brook Hill.

Bay Area Christian picked up another run in the top of the 2nd on an Townsend RBI single cutting Brook Hill’s lead to 3-2. But once again, Brook Hill responded with 3 runs. Dallas Clements scored on error. Schock got an RBI double and later scored on an error making it 6-2. From there it was all Brook Hill.

Brook Hill picked up another run in the 3rd on a Dallas Clements RBI single and picked up 2 more in the 6th. Rich hit an RBI single and courtesy runner Atticus Rhoads scored on an error to make it 9-2.

Levi Vasser came in to relieve starter Blake Whitten in the 4th inning. He shut down Bay Area Christian the rest of the way giving up only 2 hits and no walks with 3 Ks.

“The comraderie of this team is unlike anything I have ever had before,” Schock commented. “We just clicked and we got after it this year. Coming into the state tournament I was in a kind of hitting slump. But me and Coach Smith worked on it in the cage and things started to click. After my first hit yesterday it’s been good.”

“The intangibles of this team is off the chart,” Brook Hill Head Baseball Coach Don English described. “Hard work, the way they love each other, the way they practice and the way they love to compete. I’ve had some great players in the past but I’ve never won a state championship until today. I’m proud of the kids. I’m happy for them and for the school and for their families and a little happy for myself too.”

Jackson Burns struck out 12 and held Liberty Christian to just one run as Southwest Christian advanced to the Championship game with a 2-1 win over the Warriors. The Eagles will face Houston Second Baptist for the TAPPS Division II State Title on Tuesday.

Southwest Christian got their runs in the bottom of the 1st. Burns led off the inning with an infield single. Wyatt Averhoff went in to courtesy run. Two walks later and the bases were full. Joshua Blanco hit a ground ball to the shortstop that score Averhoff and Jackson Kale also scored on a throwing error on the play. Southwest Christian led 2-0.

Liberty Christian picked up a run in the top of the 4th when Zach Drew doubled home courtesy runner Caleb Ruiz cutting the Southwest Christian lead to 2-1.

After that Burns kicked into another gear. The Texas Tech signee struck out the side in both the 5th and 6th inning mixing in the curveball and keeping Liberty Christian batters off balance. Liberty Christian did makes things interesting in the top of the 7th.

Burns walked the first batter in the inning and struggled to handle a Drew bunt down the 1st base side putting runners on 1st and 2nd with no outs. Tyler Little bunted to sacrifice the runners over to 2nd and 3rd with one out. But Burns got his 12th strikeout on the night and then got a fly out to end the ballgame and sending Southwest Christian to the championship game.

Burns gave up 1 run on 5 hits with 1 walk and 12 strikeouts. He was named the THSB TAPPS Division II Semifinal Game MVP.

“We’ve worked so hard for this,” Burns described. “I’m so proud of us and everything we’ve done. This is the best feeling ever. We’ve lost two years in a row in the regionals and we’ve finally broken through. Now we’re ready to go win this thing.”

“Jackson Burns! Man he was really good,” Head Coach Rusty Beam related. “He’s wanted this for a long time. He’s been all about us this year and leading this team and he definitely led us tonight.”

“Every game in district has felt like a playoff game this year. Even teams that didn’t make the playoffs are competitive so we will go out tomorrow knowing it’s going to be another tough, exciting, competitive game for us. We’ve gotten the wins at the right time lately and fortunately we get to keep playing.”

Second Baptist’s turnaround season continued Monday as they beat the Defending State Champion Beaumont Kelly Catholic 6-1 in the first TAPPS Division II Semifinal Game. At one time, 11-12 and 5-5 in district, Second Baptist has now won 7 of their last 8 including 3 playoff games to propel them into the State Championship Game on Tuesday.

Second Baptist got on the board first in the bottom of the 2nd inning. Thomas Womble singled and stole second base. With two outs, Jace Trozzo singled Womble home giving Second Baptist a 1-0 lead.

Kelly Catholic tied the game in the top of the 4th. A Gage Lawdermilk walk and a Ryan Brown double put runners on 2nd and 3rd. Harrison Williams flied out to centerfield on the next at bat but it was deep enough to score Lawdermilk.

The game didn’t stay tied long. Womble and Trozzo walked and with 2 outs, Wes Baker launched a shot over the left field wall for a 3 run home run. That made it 4-1 for Second Baptist. They picked up two more runs in the bottom of the 5th on a Christian McCleary 2 RBI single increasing their lead to 6-1.

Kelly loaded the bases in the bottom of the 7th but relief pitcher

While the offense was scoring runs, Second Baptist pitcher was busy holding them to just run. He pitched 6.1 innings, gave up 5 hits, 1 run on 5 BB and 7 Ks.

Wes Baker was named the THSB Division II Semifinal Game MVP. His home run in the 4th inning was the turning point of the game. “Their left handed pitcher really got after us last time. Hopping on him early helped us. We capitalized on it, got some knocks and scored some runs.”

Second Baptist Head Coach Rayner Noble commented on the game: “Carson Bratcher was outstanding on the mound today. Anytime you can take the game into the 7th inning, you are doing a great job. And he did today. Wes has been clutch for us all year long. He got an off-speed pitch, lifted up in the air and man, it wasn’t fair by very much but we sure are glad it was.”

“This team has come out of nowhere. We were really struggling about halfway through district. We came alive and started hitting at the right time. I’m really proud of my guys. You talk about a team that has a lot of fight in them, that is these guys.”

James Schock had 4 RBIs and Ben Braatz gave up just one unearned run as The Brook Hill School defeated McKinney Christian 8-1 in the second TAPPS Division III State Semifinal Game. Brook Hill will play Bay Area Christian for the TAPPS Division III State Championship Tuesday.

Brook Hill got on the board in the top of the 1st. With 1 out, Cooper Schock walked, advanced to 2B on a Samuel Williams single, went to 3B on a wild pitch and scored on a Lex Rich Sacrifice Fly Ball to CF.

With the 1-0 lead, Brook Hill picked up 3 more runs in the top of the 2nd inning. Schock hit a double in the right centerfield gap with the bases loaded, scoring all 3 runners and giving Brook Hill a 4-0 lead.

The Guard picked up another run in the top of the 4th. Benjamin Braatz singled to start the inning and a Blake Whitten sac bunt moved him to 2B. With two outs, Levi Visser singled to centerfield scoring Braatz. Brook Hill took the 5-0 lead.

McKinney Christian cut the lead to 5-1 when they picked up a run in the bottom of the 5th. Judd Witte got on base by an error to start the inning. He went to 2B on a wild pitch and then stole 3B. With two outs, Caden Brown looped a single over the head of the second baseman scoring Witte.

But Brook Hill got another 3-spot in the top of the 7th. Schock had an RBI double, Williams had an RBI single and then Williams scored on an error making it 8-1

In the bottom of the 7th, the first McKinney Christian got on by an error but Braatz proceded to strike out the next three batters to finish the game. Braatz pitched 7 innings and gave up only 4 hits with 1 unearned run, no walks and 8 strikeouts. He was named the THSB MVP of the game.

“I felt great today,” Braatz explained. “Everything was working good. It was just another day on the mound. I’m looking forward to tomorrow. That was my main goal.”

Brook Hill Head Coach Don English commented on today’s game: “We’ve been pitching and playing defense well. This could have been our 5th consecutive shutout but we gave up that one unearned run. But we are starting to hit now. We strung some hits together today and Coop had a huge game for us. We are starting to swing it well.”

“We expect big things on the mound tomorrow and we need to keep swinging like we have been. If those things happen we should be in good shape tomorrow.”