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Inches Short: Brock edges Sunnyvale, 3-2, in 2A regional final
By DEVIN HASSON, dhasson@starlocalnews.com
FORT WORTH--When Sunnyvale makes the state baseball tournament in the future--a very realistic goal considering the quality of program it has built in four short years--it will look back at Thursday as the stepping stone to that achievement.
For this current team, though, that is little consolation.
The Raiders, ranked second in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association Class 2A state poll, showed they were every bit of the equal of No. 1 Brock for seven innings.
Unfortunately for Sunnyvale, those fell in the Eagles' favor as they were able to hold on for a 3-2 victory in a Class 2A Region II final at Fort Worth Southwest Christian Preparatory High School in Benbrook.
Brock (33-1) moves onto the 2A state tournament where they will begin play in a semifinal game on Wednesday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. Sunnyvale ends the best season in school history with a 29-6 record.
"It's a tough one," Sunnyvale head coach Tim Arden said. "We were pretty equally matched and it was going to come down to a break here or there. They were able to get a major break and we weren't able to overcome it."
The Raiders battled back from an early 3-0 deficit to get to within a run and had runners on base in both the sixth and seventh innings but were unable to get the equalizer against Shay Phillips of Brock, who pitched a complete game.
The toughest break came in the bottom of the fifth, when Sunnyvale had a runner thrown out at home that would have tied the game.
While Phillips was impressive, giving up two runs on seven hits, Sunnyvale sophomore Jake Wilcox matched him, allowing three runs on six hits, while striking out nine, in seven innings.
"Their pitcher was great and Jake pitched great," Arden said. "We really felt confident with a one-game series because of the way Jake had been pitching and the way we were hitting, but you have to give full credit to their pitcher, he kept us off-balance with his slider and we just couldn't adjust."
The difference came in the top of the third inning.
Brock got a leadoff single from Chris Hoffman, but catcher Zach Metzger picked the runner off first and Wilcox struck out the next batter for the second out.
However, Walker Dailey followed with a drive to right-center that just fell out of the reach of right fielder Devin DeLeon in a hit that went for a triple.
Garrett Busby followed with a grounder to shortstop, but in a close play at first, he was ruled safe after diving into the bag, allowing Dailey to score to take a 1-0 lead.
After a base hit, Phillips helped his own cause with a two-run double to give Brock a 3-0 lead.
Sunnyvale refused to go away.
With one out in the bottom of the frame, Will Moss lined a shot to left that got over the head of the fielder and then took advantage of the field dimensions--which is a hybrid of a football and baseball field--for an inside-the-park home run to make it 3-1.
Conner Nash followed with a single, but Metzger's sharp liner to second was turned into a double play to get out of the jam.
The Raiders crept closer in the bottom of the fifth, as Joey Rosato singled, DeLeon walked and they both moved into scoring position after a sacrifice bunt by Mason Goodin.
Moss followed with a single to center to score Rosato, but Dailey made a perfect throw from the outfield to nail the second runner at the plate to preserve the 3-2 lead.
Phillips was able to strand Moss to get out of the fifth, pitch around a one-out double by Brock Taylor in the sixth and a leadoff walk to Rosato in the seventh to send Brock to the state tournament.
While the ending was a tough one to swallow on Thursday, Arden believes that in time, the positives will be what the team takes away from the season.
"I told them (after the game) I loved them and that they are the best group I have ever had," Arden said. "It's tough, but we'll never forget what we were able to accomplish this year."
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