Central Catholic Repeats as TAPPS Division 1 State Champions with Win over Prestonwood

TAPPS DIVISION 1 STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

		1	2	3	4	5	6	7		R	H	E
Central Catholic		0	0	1	0	0	0	0		2	2	0
Prestonwood Christian		0	0	0	0	0	0	0		0	8	0

 

Central Catholic did all the right things at the right time today and it propelled them to a 2-0 victory over Prestonwood Christian Academy in the TAPPS Division 1 State Championship Game. Central Catholic has now won the title two years in a row. They were outhit by Prestonwood 8-2 but good pitching, good defense and timely hitting prevailed in this contest.

Central Catholic got on the board first but not until the top of the 3rd inning. The first batter in the inning Odie Martinez was hit by a pitch. With one out, Sunghoon Kim was also hit by a pitch putting runners on 1st and 2nd. Matt McClenan followed and hit a double to left field that scored Martinez. Central Catholic went up 1-0.

Sophomore Landon Holloway was getting key outs on the mound for Central Catholic. He pitched 4.2 innings before exiting in the 5th. He gave up 5 hits, 0 runs, struck out one batter and only walked one. He did not allow a Prestonwood batter to get to 3rd base. Catcher Rick Ramirez helped the cause by throwing out two runners attempting to steal. JD Amescua came in to pitch for Central Catholic in the 5th.

Central Catholic put up another run in the top of the 7th. Jake Hernandez walked to lead off the inning. A Chase Fox sac bunt moved him to 2nd. Jason Herrera came up and got Central Catholic’s second hit of the night, an RBI single to right field to give Central Catholic a 2-0 lead heading to the bottom of the 7th.

Amescua came out to pitch again in the bottom of the 7th. He gave up two 2-strike singles and a sac bunt put the tying runs on 2nd and 3rd with one out. Amescua stayed in. He got a strikeout and then a popout to end the game, giving Central Catholic their repeat Division 1 State Championship Title.

Landon Holloway was named the THSB Championship Game MVP for his impressive performance on the mound.

“The coaches told me last week that I would be starting on Tuesday,” Holloway explained. “So I was ready. I knew I had to go out there and limit the walks, pound the zone and trust my defense and that’s what I did. We have one of the best defenses in the state and that’s how we got the shutout today. This is so crazy. I am so blessed. All glory to God!”

“This is huge for the program. It’s huge for the Central Catholic community,” Head Coach Matt Flores commented. “The guys were locked in today. Landon pitched an awesome game. JD came in and did his job. We had timely hitting. We played good defense. Our guys weren’t scared in big situations today. We made the plays when we needed to. We got strikes when we needed to. We made the right pitch when we needed to. That’s baseball. That’s how we pulled it off today.”