Just a year ago the Argyle Eagles came so close to capturing the 3A state championship. That team fell in a heart breaker to College Station, but many of those same kids were back for the run in 2015. That experience could have payed dividends here as Argyle looked sharp the entire night in the 7-3 victory over the West Orange-Stark Mustangs.
In the top of the first, Hunter Markwardt and Tanner Boyzuick went down in order, and it appeared the Mustangs were going to get out of the inning rather quickly. The Eagles were able to put together a two-out rally with a Cutter McDonald single and a Ryley Balch walk. One wild pitch later, there were runners on 2nd and 3rd with two outs, but Jack Dallas got West Orange-Stark out of trouble by striking out Danny-David Linahan. Argyle pitcher Connor Mushinski had little problems in the bottom half of the inning. The sophomore induced a flyout from K.J. Miller and Payton Robertson before striking out Grant Anderson to retire the side.
The 2nd inning saw the Argyle offense explode for a total of 5 runs on 4 hits. With 1 out, Rixey Boyd reached first base on an error by the pitcher. After a double by Connor Mushinski and a walk to Seth Green, the Eagles were in business with the bases loaded and nobody out for the top of the order. Singles by Markwardt, Boyzuick, and McDonald resulted in all 5 runs for Argyle in the inning. The Mustangs stopped the bleeding by getting McDonald on third on a steal attempt.
Needing to grab some of the momentum back from Argyle, the Mustangs were able to put together back-to-back two out hits to plate a run. Chase Rutledge’s single to left followed by Ryan Ragsdale’s liner over the left fielder’s head got in a run. The Mustangs needed to hold Argyle to a scoreless inning, and they did just that. Grant Anderson, which came in to pitch for Dallas, struck out two batters.
In the bottom of the third, Miller earned a 1-out walk before a Robertson single to left to put runners on first and second base. However, Mushinski was able to work out of trouble by getting Grant Anderson on a fielder’s choice force at second followed by a ground out to second.
The Eagles were able to re-extend their lead back to 5 runs in the top of the 4th. A Green single got everything started. A ground out by Markwardt got Green over the 2nd with one out. With 2 outs, McDonald singled through the left side to bring home Green, making it 6-1. West Orange-Stark went quietly in their at-bat in the inning, with 2 ground outs and a strikeout.
The fast pace continued in the top half of the 5th, with Argyle going 1-2-3. The fifth inning ended up being on the quickest you’ll see, as Argyle also went down in order, 1-2-3.
In the 6th, Argyle’s Mushinski hit a rocket to the wall in right field for a leadoff double. Trying to build on their lead, a sacrifice bunt by Green got Mushinski to third with just one down. A Markwardt single to center drove him in, and Argyle was up 7-1 heading to the bottom of the 6th.
West Orange-Stark needed to generate offense in a hurry being down 6 runs with just 2 at-bats left. The Mustangs were able to push across two runs in the frame. A Jack Dallas single and a Rutledge sacrifice fly cut the lead down to 4.
The Mustangs got out of a jam in the top of the 7th with an unassisted double play by Robertson, but 4 runs were needed to keep this game going. 3 outs were the only thing standing in the way from Argyle and a state championship. Three ground balls later, the Eagles were dog-piling near the mound. Mushinski, with his effort on the mound and at the plate, was named the state championship game MVP.
Argyle High School, which is still relatively new, captured its first baseball state championship. Just last year, the team was in the state finals. Argyle finishes the season with an overall record of 30-7. Also, the Eagles captured the Lone Star Cup for the 2014-2015 school year.
TxHighSchoolBaseball.com would like to congratulate El Campo and Abilene Wylie on their state tournament appearances, West Orange-Stark on their state runner-up finish, and the Argyle Eagles on their 2015 baseball state championship.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | R | H | E | |
| Argyle | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 8 | 2 |
| West Orange-Stark | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 6 | 7 |
Tags: State Tournament
