Rodriguez Leads Shiner St Paul to 5-1 Win over Sacred Heart, Berth In Championship Game

Jr Zeke Rodriguez held Hallettsville Sacred Heart to just one run while knocking in two runs and scoring two to lead Shiner St. Paul to a 5-1 victory in the first game of the TAPPS Division V State Semifinal. St. Paul will now meet the winner of the Bethesda Christian/ Christian Life Prep matchup in the Division V State Championship Game on Saturday.

St. Paul got the offense going in the top of the 1st. With two outs, Joseph Peters’ single scored Rodriguez to give St. Paul the early 1-0 lead. They picked up another run in the top of the 3rd on consecutive doubles by Nate Boedeker and Peters.

St. Paul picked up 3 more runs in the top of the 4th. A triple by Rodriguez scored Brody Biehunko and Cody Malinovsky. Rodriguez then scored on an errant throw and St. Paul increased their lead to 5-0.

Meanwhile, Rodriguez was holding Sacred Heart at bay. He held them scoreless through 6.2 innings until Klayton Chance tripled home Marcus Seger for Sacred Heart. Rodriguez then picked up his 8th strikeout of the game to secure the win for St. Paul. Rodriguez gave up the 1 run on 5 hits with 3 BB and 8 Ks. He was named the THSB Division V State Semifinal MVP for his performance.

“We carried some momentum into this game and we were ready to play,” Rodriguez explained. “Our coaches had a lot of faith in us and so did we. Our defense was great today. I couldn’t do what I did today without our defense.”

St. Paul Shiner Head Coach Charlie Meischen commented on the game, “We had the mentality that we could make it back here and we knew they would probably make it back. We expected this game. Zeke came out and threw an outstanding game. We have talked about time running out and when you know when the end is you can just leave it all out there. And you saw guys leaving it all out there today.”