Bucs break open a close game with a five run sixth inning
Round Rock – Last year’s painful memory, a lost to the Memorial Mustangs in the region semis is all but a mist to the Buccaneer fans now.
The Brazoswood Buccaneers power punched Lubbock Coronado 10-3 in the Class 5A State Title game at Dell Diamond Stadium Saturday afternoon.
With the win, the Bucs take home their third title in the school’s history.
Lubbock Coronado (33-16), fresh off the disposal of Corpus Christi Carroll, found themselves down 3-0 after one inning but cut the lead to one when Bass led off the second inning with a double and scored on Johnson’s double. Zach Ancel flied out to short stop for the first out. Colton Palmers infield single put runners on the corners before Zane Ancel ripped a single to left field scoring Johnson.
Gary Hix Coronado’s Coach said, “Hats off to Brazoswood, they’re a good class organization, they played hard and they beat us and you can’t say anything about that. It comes down to one ball game and I’m proud of the way our kids have fought through this thing the whole time. I’m disappointed but very very happy with the way we played.”
The Bucs (34-8), pounded out 13 hits and added a run in the third when Will Renner singled home Cantu to extend the lead 4-2. With the bases loaded twice in the inning, Coronado was fortunate to get out of a jam with only surrendering one run, but the run was enough to chased Mustangs pitcher Tyler O’Neil from the game after just 2 1/3 innings. He surrendered five hits, four runs but only three were earned.
Coronado used three pitchers after O’Neil, including Paxton Bartley, Steven Parker and Bryson Mitchell, all struggled to keep the Buccaneer batters under control.
“Well it was a tie game just like we thought up until the very end. Things opened up for us but fell apart for them a little bit. Our kids, they did everything they needed to do to get to this point and followed through with their goals. We practiced earlier on another field and they were dancing as if they had no pressure. That’s the way they started the season and the way they ended it,” said Bobby Williams Brazoswood Coach.
Coronado’s third run of the game took form when Bucs pitcher Bobby Franklin walked DeLaGarza with the bases loaded, forcing Zane Ancel home from third base. Franklin quickly retired Bass on a groundout to second to get out of trouble.
Colby Alexander led off the fourth with a single and scored on Ermis double, 5-3 Bucs. The Mustangs lost steam as the game progressed into the later innings and after Brazoswood’s huge sixth inning, where they put a five spot on the scoreboard to pad their lead.
Will Renner was 3 out of 4 at the plate, with four RBIs while picking up the MVP Award. Teammate Justin Dellinger got the win to push his season record to (4-0). He struck out three and gave up one hit.
Will Renner said, “It was just a complete team effort. We all hit the ball. We all did what we were supposed to do. Situational hitting, hitting the ball to the opposite field. It’s pretty much, a dream come true for a state championship game. Yesterday we saw a really good pitcher (Klein’s Evan Rutter) he’s going to Rice. That was probably the best pitcher we’ve seen in the playoffs. Then today everything look like meet, the ball looked the size of a beach ball.”
Tyler O’Neil (6-3) took the loss for the Mustangs. Brayden Blackwell finished two of four for the Mustangs.
“They caught us on a bad day hitting but I’m not going take anything credit away from them they deserve to win that game every bit of the way they’re a great team, a fantastic team and I have the up most respect for them,” said Blackwell Coronado’s second baseman. “It was a great ball game on their part. They did what they needed to do to win. It was a good game by them.”
