Tigers move on to regional finals for first time since 1998

Almost daily one hears a common remark when athletes/coaches are interviewed, usually after a loss. “We will have to learn from this and move on.” Well, the Dripping Springs Tigers get to say the same thing but on the other side of the coin. They have been in so many close games over the season that turned out to be victories, they have learned to take everything in stride, knowing everything will end up okay in the end. As Yogi Berra was one to say “It ain't over 'til it's over.”

The first game with Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial in the regional semifinals gave them one more chance to prove it as they hung on and around for nine innings before winning 3-2. No less in the 4-2 loss in the second game and the 5-4 nail-biter in the final to earn a spot opposite Leander Rouse in the regional finals. A position they have not been in since 1998.

Veterans has one of the better teams in the region and kept the pressure on for the entire game. Nico Ruedas was again called on to take the mound in the crucial opening game of a best of three series. He would battle as always and called on his teammates to make outstanding plays to keep the Tigers in the game. VM did not take long to show it was going to be a tough game. The leadoff batter stroked a line drive that third baseman, Tyler Puls, snared for an out. The next batter parked it over the leftfield wall for a quick 1-0 lead.

The fourth was another crucial inning. A VM batter got a two-out single and the next batter sent a drive toward the left field wall. Luke D'Alessandro gave chase and hauled it down just before it got to the wall and saved a run. Walks have always been a big time nemesis in the world of baseball and it would cost VM the chance to win. In the bottom of the fourth, the VM pitcher walked two batters and wild-pitched them to second and third with two outs. DH Max Miles lived up to his title and brought in both with a double to give the Tigers a 2-1 lead.

Another crucial situation in the sixth began with a walk. A one-out double tied the score. After a strikeout, the Tigers were able to get the runner trying to score on a ground ball in a rundown to get out of the inning. It was six up and six down in the next two innings by Ruedas. He walked the first two batters in the ninth but was asked to continue which he did by getting the next three batters on fly balls. He had run out of pitches and had done all he could.

Meanwhile the VM pitcher used up his pitch-count after six. The next pitcher would strike out six in the next three innings but once again it would be the walk. Miles would get his third hit between two strikeouts. Then a walk and hit batter loaded the bases. New pitcher succumbed to pressure. His second toss was a wild pitch that caromed off the backstop and bounced away to allow Luke Hudson, who had pinch run for Miles, to score the winning run. A quirk in the rules allowed Hudson to score twice on pinch runs. He was the courtesy runner for Reece Dunn, who walked in the fourth.

Graduation had been rained out on Friday and postponed until Saturday night, putting the Tiger seniors in a precarious position for doing both. Winning the first game would have eased that problem. However it was not to be. Brandon Arvidson, who was on the mound, helped his cause in the first with a two-run blast for a quick 2-0 lead. It included D'Alessandro who had a bunt single to get on. Unfortunately, the Tigers would get only one hit and no runs the rest of the way.

Meanwhile, VM would come up with three hits and a walk to cross the plate in the second. Another two hits would add an insurance run in the fifth to make necessary a third game.

Third games are scary for coaches, especially when it comes to pitching. Few teams have pitchers (those that have control and throw strikes). Mostly they are throwers (never really know when their control will be on). By this time they have used up their pitchers and just hope when they call on a person to take the mound, they are on at the time.

VM got on board in the second with a run. The Tigers had two major baserunning gaffs in the first two innings. In the third and fourth innings walks helped load the bases, but each time the Tigers could only come away with one run but that was enough to tie the game after VM had scored again in the third. Mitchell Bockelman, who was on the mound for the Tigers broke the tie with a blast over the wall.

DS added an insurance run in the sixth. It was short-lived when VM stroked a two-run homer off Cody Evans, who had replaced Bockelman when he faltered in the fifth, to tie the game. An error allowed Arvidson to reach base and Ruedas produced a two-out single. They left three on base. Even though the lead was tenuous, Evans was aided by a double play and struckout the final batter to seal the deal.

The Tigers would be aided by nine walks but even more important they only struck out three times. In the two previous games they had struck out 27 times which takes away many chances for hits and possible errors.

The road does not get any easier with Rouse as the opponent. Games should be somewhere close to town, and the winner goes to state. Check the school website for those details.

Vs VM1: Hits: Miles 3 (2B), Cameron O'Banan 2 (2B), Mitchell Bockelman 2B, D'Alessandro. Pitch: Ruedas 9IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 3W, 5K, 1HR.

Vs VM2: Hits: Arvidson HR, D'Alessandro, Dunn. Pitch: Arvidson 6IP, 8H, 4R, 4ER, 4W, 6K.

Vs VM3: Hits: Ruedas 2, O'Banan 3B, Dylan Wolfe 2B, Bockelman HR, D'Alessandro, Dunn, Puls. Pitch: Bockelman 4.1IP, 4H, 2R, 2ER, 5W, 4K; Evans 2.2IP, 5H, 2R, 2ER, 1HR.