With senior ace Eric Hammond on the mound, the Keller Indians dominated their 6A state semifinal game against Strake Jesuit.
Hammond pitched six innings and held the Crusaders to one run on six hits while striking out nine and walking three. Senior centerfielder/pitcher Braden Davis took the mound in relief and tossed a 3-up, 3-down seventh to close out the 7-1 victory and advance the Indians to the state championship game for the first time.
“It means a lot (to pitch my team to the title game),” Hammond said. “We’ve come this far and the coaches, team, have given everything we have each day. … I just stuck with my game plan and trusted my coaches. That’s what we’ve done all season. It’s a lot of staff success, so no need to change it. Just went out there to compete as hard as I could.”
Keller, playing as the home team thanks to being the higher seed based on winning percentage, took a 1-0 lead after the first. Leadoff hitter Griffin Barton knocked a double to left-center to start, then senior second baseman Aidan Connors drove him in with a RBI double that hugged the first base line.
Strake Jesuit got the run back in the second on a RBI single from senior first baseman Ryan Montgomery. Crusaders starting pitcher Garrett Stratton worked back from a leadoff hit by pitch to sit Keller down in order in the bottom of the second to keep the game tied 1-1.
Walks became an issue for the Jesuit pitching staff in the final four frames. A leadoff walk followed by back-to-back singles from Connors and senior first baseman Gray Rowlett loaded the bases with no outs. Junior third baseman Mike Dattalo sent a sacrifice fly to deep center field to drive in a run.
Keller opened things up with a four-run fourth. The Indians had four hits from Todd Baffa, Whit Thoms, Dattalo and Davis and a sacrifice fly from Connors. They were helped by a pair of errors at second and a walk. Jesuit relief pitchers Carson Brown and Jacob Lopresto combined to issue six walks in the back half of the game.
The Indians scattered 10 hits. Barton (3 R), Connors (2 RBI) and Dattallo (2 RBI) each had two.
“Each at-bat was real competitive. They were hitting good pitches, laying off bad pitches and squaring it up and hitting it hard. Usually if you do that, good things will happen,” Keller coach Rob Stramp said. “It’s fantastic (to reach the title game). This is officially the furthest that Keller has gone, which the guys should be really proud of. We’ve got a real together group and they just came out and did it tonight.”
Hammond started behind in the count in several at-bats, but Stramp was proud of the way he battled back and “just stick with it and got the job done.” Hammond and Stramp said Keller is going to prepare for tomorrow’s contest “like it’s just another game,” but it’s not lost on the Indians that they’re one win away from the ultimate goal.
“Knowing we’re going to have a shot tomorrow to win it all, it’s amazing,” Hammond said. “I’m looking forward to it and it’s going to be fun. It’s been our motto, “Win Texas,” so we’re just going to prepare tonight and get ready to go.”
