Kelly Catholic Battles Second Baptist, Rain Delay for 3-1 TAPPS Division II Semifinal Win

Beaumont Kelly Catholic battled DII District 5 foe Houston Second Baptist and a 2-hour rain delay but came away victorious with a 3-1 win in the second TAPPS Division II Semifinal Game.  Kelly Catholic will now meet Midland Christian Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM for the Division II State Baseball Championship.

Second Baptist scored first in the top of the 2^nd.  Grayson Willey and Ty Baker hit back-to-back doubles that scored Willey to give Second Baptist the early 1-0 lead.

Kelly Catholic pick up a run of their own in the bottom of the 3^rd on a Ryan Brown RBI single that scored Austin Brown and tied the ballgame at 1-1.  Kelly Pitcher Rhett Knox shut down the first three batters in the top of the 4^th followed by a lightning strike and a light shower.  The game was delayed 1 hour and 59 minutes.

The game resumed with Kelly’s Gibson Bitar leading off the bottom of the 4^th with a single.  He was moved over on a Sac Bunt by Jared Moulder and then scored on an infield throwing error to give Kelly a 2-1 lead.

Kelly picked up another run in the bottom of the 5^th.  Brown had a one-out single, stole 2nd, moved to 3^rd on a wild pitch and scored on a Sam Bevilacqua sacrifice fly.

With a 3-1 lead Knox continued to be tough on the mound for Kelly.  Allowing one baserunner to Second Baptist in both the 6^th and 7^th, Knox found a way to get outs and kill any potential rally.  For his gutsy performance on the mound, Knox was named the THSB Player of the Game.  He finished pitching 7 innings, giving up only 1 run on 4 hits and 5 walks with 5 strikeouts.

“I felt strong out there early and then after the delay, I just focused on really locating and hitting my spots,” Knox explained.  “I didn’t feel 100% coming back out.  But I was able to focus on getting outs and finding a way to get it done.”

Kelly Catholic Head Coach Jason Tyner commented on Knox’s performance: “It was Rhett’s last game of his high school career and he did not want me to take him out of the game after the delay.  He pitched amazing.  He’s a bulldog.  He is 11-0 and there’s a reason he is.”  On getting to the state championship game: “I’m excited.  Last year we only won 9 games.  The goal this year was to make the playoffs.  And as we began rolling, the self-belief and self-confidence kept rising.  Towards the end of the year, the goal became state.  So it’s exciting to watch this team reach this point.”

THSB Player of the Game – Rhett Knox