Play at the plate ends game in Titans win
Originally published March 10, 2011 at 1:45 p.m., updated March 10, 2011 at 11:20 p.m.
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Friday's games:
10:30 a.m.: Beaumont vs. Flour Bluff
1:30 p.m.: Victoria East vs. Bush
4:30 p.m.: East vs. Flour Bluff
4:30 p.m.: St. Joseph vs. Bush at Lowe Field
7:30 p.m.: Victoria West vs. Beaumont
Troy McIntosh didn't think the game would rest on him. He thought the game would be over and the Titans would be able to celebrate a one-run win. What he wasn't counting on was a base hit right to him.
"I thought it was going to be a ground ball, and he would be out and we'd celebrate," said the senior outfielder.
When he got the chance in the seventh inning, he made sure not to waste it.
"I didn't really think, I just reacted," he said. "I just came up with the ball throwing."
With two outs and a runner charging to the plate, McIntosh came up throwing on a base hit to right field for the plate. His throw missed the cutoff man, reaching catcher J.J. Garcia with just enough time to lay a tag on the runner for the final out.
It was ironic that the final out in Thursday's 6-5 Victoria East win over Rockport-Fulton came down to a stellar defensive play. In the previous six innings, the Titans had committed a startling seven errors to help Rockport-Fulton keep pace with them throughout.
East coach Wes Kolle said its something the Titans will need to work on in the coming days as District 30-4A play approaches.
"We tell guys that they have to play the next play," he said. "If you make an error, make a bad play or boot a ball, you got to forget about it and play the next play.
"Obviously, you don't want to have seven errors every game, but we got to keep playing until the last out is made, and that's what our guys did."
McIntosh entered the game in the fourth inning after starting right fielder Trey Thormahlen injured himself, while scoring on a single by Gabe Verduzco. He was 0-for-1 at the plate, reaching base on an error then getting picked off.
He was part of a bevy of reserves that entered the game midway through, and gave an extra boost to the team.
"We had a lot of guys come off the bench that stepped up and did their job," Kolle said. "They come to practice every day, they work hard and they do what we ask them to do. Tonight, it came through for them. They were blessed with the opportunity, and they came through in the clutch."
McIntosh said the Titans came out prepared and were looking to finish strong despite some struggles during the middle innings that saw the Pirates match the Titans for three straight innings with runs. Rockport-Fulton overall had more hits (9) and had more opportunities to score.
"Once we come into a game strong, we're going to end it strong," McIntosh said. "If we come into a game not ready to play, it shows. I think we came ready today."
Dylan Rab took over in the fifth inning for starter Hunter Perkins and held the Pirates in check for the remainder of the game to pick up the win. He got aid from Ian Champion, who came in from Robert Gleinser in the fifth.
But McIntosh stood out for his play in the field to seal the victory.
The senior outfielder took a year off from baseball last year after playing junior varsity his freshman and sophomore years, and is back this season to the team.
"Troy's ready, he and all of our guys know that if they aren't in the starting lineup, they know they have a role and they have to be ready when they are called upon," Kolle said. "And we had a couple of guys that were called upon and they stepped up."
The Titans made the most of their chances throughout the game. East had just six hits, but benefited from three errors and two walks. They stranded just three baserunners during the game. They hounded Rockport-Fulton pitcher Matt Scott with runs in four of six innings.
"Guys came through with clutch hits," Kolle said. "We're getting guys on, but we're still not executing as well with our small-ball game."
West loses pitcher's duel with Flour Bluff, 3-0
In a battle of big arms from Victoria West and Corpus Christi Flour Bluff, the breaks went against the Warriors.
Senior starting pitcher Jordan Pacheco pitched a complete game and allowed just two walks and four hits, but got no support from the Warriors offense as the Hornets walked away with a 3-0 win.
The Warriors mustered just three hits off of Flour Bluff starter Brandon Mendiola, who walked two batters and struck out four.
Pacheco struck out 12 batters, but his defense let him down with three errors and two of the players he struck out reached base on passed balls, including a pivotal runner in the sixth inning who later scored to give the Hornets a third run.
The Warriors only good chance to score a run came in the second inning, when Jordan Flores singled then reached third on a ground out. Brandon Alex and Brookes Bynum, who came up as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning, had the other two Warriors hits.
Walks, errors hurt St. Joseph against Flour Bluff
The Flyers scored first, but costly errors and wild pitching meant Corpus Christi Flour Bluff scored last - and more often.
St. Joseph got off to a rocky start at the VISD tournament on Thursday morning, mustering just three hits in a seven-inning loss to Corpus Christi Flour Bluff, 7-1.
Starting pitcher Brayden Blanton looked good early, cruising through the first two innings, and St. Joseph got at double from Kyle Van Sickle to bring in Ryan Falcon for an early 1-0 lead.
But Flour Bluff countered an inning later, stringing together several hits and benefiting from Blanton's wildness to push across five runs. The Hornets would tack on an additional two runs in the fourth inning off of Thomas Valenzuela, who also struggled with control on the mound. Flour Bluff had just five hits, but were helped by several walks and three errors.
The Flyers offense had just one hit after the second inning.
Flour Bluff 7, St. Joseph 1
STJ 010 000 0 - 1 3 3
CCFB 005 200 x - 7 5 1
Brayden Blanton, Thomas Valenzuela (3) and Ryan Falcon. Ross Carter and Lucas Humpel. WP - Carter, LP - Blanton. Highlights: Kyle Van Sickle 1-3 2B, RBI; Ryan Falcon HBP, R.
Victoria East 6, Rockport-Fulton 5
R-F 001 220 0 - 5 9 3
East 012 201 x - 6 6 7
Matt Scott and Reid Wagoner. Hunter Perkins, Dylan Rab (5) and J.J. Garcia. WP - Rab, LP - Scott. Highlights: Gabe Verduzco 1-3, 2B, RBI, R; Mason Tipton 1-3, 3 R, 3B, reached base twice on errors, SB of home.
C.C. Flour Bluff 3, Victoria West 0
CCFB 100 001 1 - 3 4 1
West 000 000 0 - 0 3 3
Brandon Mendiola and Lucas Hampul. Jordan Pacheco and Jon Guerra. WP - Mendiola, LP - Pacheco. Highlights: Pacheco CG 12 Ks
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