Burnet baseball loses to La Grange
CAPTION: Senior pitcher Matthew Valdez shows tremendous strength and control while throwing strikes against La Grange. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
The Burnet High School baseball team lost to La Grange 2-1 in a best-of-three area series in the Class 4A Division II playoffs.
The series was played May 9-10 in Hutto.
The Bulldogs end the season with a 20-10 record.
“Not many teams can can win 20 games,” head coach Russell Houston said. “The kids had to win seven in a row to get in the playoffs. That put a lot of mental stress and anguish on those kids. They’re just a tough group of kids that refused to let the tough situations overwhelm them. I’m super proud of these kiddos. I love these seniors and all of them. I’m proud to be a Bulldog.”
Burnet won the first game 4-3 May 9 and lost game two 7-4 and game three 3-2 both on May 10.
In the series opener, after the Leopards scored all of their runs in the first inning, Burnet pitcher Cooper Faris shut them down.
“In the first inning, they hit him around a little bit,” Houston said. “From then on, he didn’t give up any more hits. Cooper Faris threw a complete game and pitched well. I’m so proud of how far that young man has come over three years.”
Meanwhile, when the Bulldogs’ turn came to bat, they called for a squeeze that didn’t score. That’s because the Bulldogs were called for interference.
But in the second inning, the Leopards couldn’t contain Burnet. The Bulldogs plated two runs to trim the deficit to 3-2.
Then Trey Morrow hit a home run in the fourth inning to tie the contest and Burnet took the lead for good in the fifth inning.
“We played really well,” Houston said. “We swung it well. We had two-out hits and two-out RBI. It was definitely a close game.”
The Bulldogs left 11 runners on base.
“La Grange didn’t make very many mistakes, if any,” the coach said.
The Bulldogs, who began their day May 10 at 9 a.m., arrived back in Hutto needing to win one more game to take the series. Solid pitching was one of the main themes during the series.
Another were weather delays.
“We were down 3-2 in game two when the first lighting delay hit,” Houston said. “I think it hurt us quite a bit.”
Matthew Valdez was the starting pitcher and “was throwing well,” the coach said, when officials told the teams to head indoors. Houston noted it was at least an hour before they were allowed to return to the field.
“Matthew went back out there and got the first guy out,” he said. “The next guy walked and we gave up a home run. He gets the next guy out in three pitches. We’re down 6-2.”
The second delay is called with the Leopards winning 7-2 and Burnet down to its last out.
“We came out after a 30-minute delay,” the coach said. “We scored two and had two on with the tying run at the plate, which was impressive. A lot of things have to go right.”
La Grange escaped with a 7-4 victory to force a third and deciding game.
The Bulldogs came out firing, scoring a run in the first inning and another in the second for a 2-0 advantage.
Burnet put its fortunes on the strong arm of Mason Watson, and he was delivering.
“He’s a sophomore who’s been throwing well enough,” Houston said.
The La Grange lead-off runner reached base on an error to start the third inning and was bunted to second. After a walk, the next batter had “a big hit to the gap” to bring the runners home. A ground ball was thrown “on a short hop” to first, allowing the base runner to score and give the Leopards a 3-2 lead.
“We had opportunities in the fourth, fifth and sixth innings with base runners,” Houston said. “We had runners all over. We didn’t get the job done. It was a frustrating and long day.”
He noted the final game ended around 9 p.m.
After weather delays, pitchers “have time to throw,” but batters “don’t have time to hit,” he said.
“That’s high school baseball and playoff baseball,” the coach said. “(La Grange) did a good job of handling that. We’ve done enough the last couple of years. It’s difficult when it’s in the middle of a game or in the middle of an inning. It was definitely difficult situations for us. Once you get going and have to stop, it’s extremely hard for pitchers. They’re in a groove and going and all the sudden, they have to sit down and try to get their minds to stay focused. I think it’s difficult for kids, I think it’s difficult for adults, I think it’s hard for the first guy at the plate. You have to get refocused and feel confident and in a grove.”
He used one word when asked how he’ll remember this team.
“Resilient,” he said. “They were gritty. They had a lot of injuries, a lot of heartbreaks and different things. They were mentally strong enough to overcome and found a way to get in the playoffs.”
CAPTION: Alex Cantrill celebrates hitting a double during the second game against La Grange. Photo by Martelle Luedecke/Luedecke Photography
