After losing in last year’s state championship game, Liberty-Eylau had one goal: To not just get back to the state tournament but to win it all. Thursday evening they did just that by downing Calallen 3-1 with a big 4th inning and effective performances on the mound.
Calallen got on the board first in the bottom of the 2nd. With one out, Justin Calderon doubled on a fly ball down the left field line. Courtesy runner Sebastian Dennis advanced to 3B on a Hayden Brock fly ball to RF. Gamez then came up and delivered a single through the left side of the infield to score Dennis and give Calallen the 1-0 lead.
Liberty-Eylau threatened in every inning but finally put some things together in the top of the fourth. Cam Gamble led off with a walk and Maddax Moore singled off of the leg of Calallen pitcher Drayton Mitchell. With one out, Gabe Jarvis hit a dribbler down the 1st base line to load the bases. And then things started to fall apart for Calallen. Gamble scored on a wild pitch. Then Dylan Nabors bunted a ball up down the 1st base line that catcher Calderon kicked when it took a wild bounce and that scored courtesy runner Caiden Proctor. Jarvis went to third on that play and he scored when W.T. Jones hit a fly ball to LF. Liberty-Eylau took a 3-1 lead.
Jones held Calallen to just the one run into the 6th inning until he got to the pitch count limit. He pitched 5.2 innings giving up 1 run on 6 hits, 4 walks and 2 strikeouts to get the win. Gamble came in to relieve Jones and gave up just one hit in 1.1 innings to pick up the save.
W.T. Jones was named the Championship Game MVP. “Coach always says if you throw strikes you will do good,” Jones said on his performance tonight. “So I just went out and filled it up and let my defense make the plays behind me. This one feels so good. Losing last year hurt so bad. But this one feels so great I cant even explain it.”
For Head Coach Zach Fowler, he now has a State Championship as a player and as a coach. But this year was special. “Losing last year the way we did and then to come back and work our way back and end up on top—I think that makes this one feel a little more special.”
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