Friday, May 15, 2009
During its memorable run to the TAPPS 3A state semifinals, Vanguard pieced together enough hitting and pitching to overcome occasional lapses in the field.
This time, it was too late.
The Woodlands Christian Academy scored five unearned runs with two outs in the seventh to pull off a 7-2 win Thursday afternoon and end one of the Vikings’ most successful seasons in school history.
A glum group of Vikings trudged off the WISD baseball field after letting a tight game slip away. But they knew they had put together a great season.
“It’s tough right now, but we have nothing to hang our heads about,” said Vanguard coach Ben Basden, whose team finished 17-7. “Nothing’s going to take away from the season we had. We pretty much had to start again from scratch after making the semifinals in 2005, and these seniors have a lot to be proud of.”
With the game tied at 2, Vanguard pitcher Michael Clark got two quick outs in the top of the seventh. With the middle of the Vikings’ order coming up in the bottom of the seventh, it looked like an ideal situation.
“We had them on the ropes and we had the heart of our lineup coming up,” Vanguard shortstop Ben Browder said. “So it was very disappointing.”
Travis Winnon got the Warriors’ rally started by reaching on Browder’s throwing error. After Winnon stole second and moved to third base on a wild pitch, Chris Miller hit a line drive that tailed away from rightfielder Ryan Mull for a run-scoring double to give the Warriors a 3-2 lead.
Troy Williams then hit a grounder to Browder, but he threw wildly past first base to allow Miller to score. After Clark walked Brandon Ward, Chris Mosher banged a two-run double to deep left field to open up a 6-2 lead.
After Isaiah Ellis relieved, Sterling Frand finished off the scoring with a run-scoring single up the middle.
It was a tough way for Clark (8-1) to lose after he no-hit the Warriors through the first five innings. The Warriors (19-8) finished with six hits and four walks.
“No one kept us off-balance like that all year,” Warriors coach Clint McDonald said. “He (Clark) competed so hard on the mound and had a nasty slider. But our kids just kept plugging away.”
Frand (6-1) allowed seven hits and three walks to get the win for The Woodlands, but the Vikings missed several chances to open a bigger lead.
Vanguard’s Larson Wayman walked and scored the game’s first run in the first inning on Jake Blum’s single. But leftfielder Jared Caron threw out Blum when he tried to stretch his hit into a double.
In the fourth inning, Jed Cole opened with a single but was thrown out at second by Caron. The Vikings finished with three hits in the inning, but failed to score. Vanguard took a 2-1 lead in the fifth when Browder hit a run-scoring single after a pair of Warriors’ errors.
“It’s tough when you see a 7-2 score and you know it wasn’t that kind of game,” Basden said. “We had our chances early, but things fell apart at the end.”
The Woodlands will face Tyler All Saints Episcopal School at 10:30 a.m. today for the 3A championship at Mary Hardin-Baylor.
jwerner@wacotrib.com
757-5716
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