Tiger baseball misses out on State

It was one of those series the Tigers just could not seem to get all phases working in the same game. The result would be 11-1 and 2-1 losses to Rouse to knock them out at the regional finals and a chance to make the state tourney. The first game saw the Tiger pitchers fail to find the plate and in the second they could not find their bats.

Game one of the Dripping Springs-Rouse regional finals answers the question “Why coaches get grey”? All the wheels flew off the wagon as the Tigers saved this game to have major problems in all areas. Most specifically their strength has been well-pitched games, especially by the starters. They simply have not had to use relievers that much. After Nico Ruedas had to leave the game with a problem in the third, Coach Payne could not find a reliever among the four he tried that could throw a strike. Ruedas walked four but the others walked 13 more to account for seven runs.

Two errors by the Rouse shortstop allowed a Tiger run in the bottom of the first. No one would have guessed that would be the last. The top of the lineup failed to bring in runs with the bases loaded in the second. In three other innings the Tigers could not come up with the key hits to score runners.

DS returned the favor in the third when two errors, two hits and three walks brought in four runs and chased Ruedas. The next inning Rouse added three with six walks and three more in the fifth with four walks and two hits. The Raiders were able to invoke the run-rule in the sixth with one run on two walks and an error. The Tigers tried to hold it off in their bottom half but could not score with the bases loaded and no outs.

Nature jumped in to intervene in the second contest. The game should have begun at 7:00 but lightning delays moved it back to 8:00. There was another lightning delay following the end of the sixth. In between, both teams enjoyed great pitching from their staff. It would take 14 innings to determine a winner. This would be the second 14-inning game for the Tigers in the playoffs.

Rouse had gambled by holding out their ace pitcher in the first game. It paid off when the Tigers produced their walk-a-thon for a loss. However, Coach Payne had an ace up his sleeve in the form of Brandon Arvidson who matched the Raider ace pitch for pitch and strikeouts (8-6) after five. Arvidson got into some trouble in the fourth when after getting the first two batters out, he gave up a double and a walk to score a run. It could have been worse but Ruedas fielded an infield hit and alertly spotted a miscue by the lead Raider runner who had rounded third. Ruedas chased him down to end the inning instead of having the bases loaded.

It was a similar scenario for the Tigers in the fifth. The Tigers went down 1-2 before the Raider walked Dylan Wolfe and Tyler Puls. O'Banan would get enough bat on the pitch to get the ball to the outfield and score Wolfe to tie the game. Each team would get runners in scoring position during the rest of the game but were unable to get the clutch hit to put this game out of its misery.

After the 30-minute break following the weather delay, the coaches had decisions to make concerning their starters. Rouse chose to leave theirs in and let him use up his limit which took him two outs into the eighth. DS chose to bring in Cody Evans, a little used arm during the season. Both were good calls. Evans would have a stellar performance, holding the Raiders in check for the rest of the game. When Rouse had to bring in their reliever, he also pitched superbly. Batters had a hard time touching these pitchers all night. The Tigers only managed three hits and had a record tying 20 strikeouts, probably a result of trying too hard to make something happen. The Tigers would bat a measly .065 but the Raiders were not much better at .178.

The later innings were played in light rain. Finally in the fourteenth a small crack. After one out an error and walk put two on. It looked like another extension as Evans got a pop up for the second out. Unfortunately the leadoff hitter stroked a shot into leftfield that Luke D'Alessandro could not work his magic on with a diving attempt he could not hold onto. This ended the marathon after midnight and the Tigers season.

The Tigers had given it their all, just as they have all season. A never give up attitude despite having the injury bug taking away key players at critical times. This was the deepest in the playoffs the Tigers have advanced since 1998. The team would finish with a 29-13-1 record and good reason to have the rallying cry “Wait Til Next Year”.

Vs Rouse1: Hits: Arvidson 2, O'Banan, Max Miles, Ruedas, Tyler Puls. Pitch: Ruedas 2.2IP, 2H, 4R, 1ER, 4W, 2K; Sam Agajanian .11P, 2R, 2ER, 3W, 1K; Wyatt Leschber 1R, 1ER, 3W; Billy Burnett 1.2IP, 2H, 3R, 3ER, 5W, 1K; Aidan Perry 1.11P, 1R, 1ER, 2W.

Vs Rouse2: Hits: O'Banan, Arvidson, Puls. Pitch: Arvidson 6IP, 5H, 1R, 1ER, 2W, 10K; Evans 7.2IP, 3H, 1R, 1W, 1HP, 2K.