Reagan’s season was on the line, and it was up to a freshman to keep it going.
No problem.
Freshman left fielder Cade Bormet crushed a single to the right-field wall, scoring Jack Thompson in the bottom of the seventh inning for the winning score in a 2-1 Reagan victory over Eagle Pass in a one-game playoff for the Region IV-5A title.
The Rattlers scored twice in the seventh to rally after Eagle Pass scored in the top half of the inning.
“I love that,” Bormet said. “That’s what I live for, and I came through.”
Reagan (33-6) advances to the UIL state tournament for the first time after six appearances in the regional finals.
Bormet’s big moment was set up after Eagle Pass took a 1-0 lead in the top of the seventh when Eric Gonzalez scored on a Reagan error.
In the Reagan half of the inning, Zach Morrow was hit by the pitch with one out and moved to second on Thompson’s single. Ben Brookover doubled in Morrow to tie the game at 1. With Thompson on third and Brookover on second, Drew Brooks was intentionally walked to load the bases. Bormet followed with his game-winning single.
“It was huge,” Bormet said. “Runners got on. They walked Drew. It was bases loaded, and I just did my job. We work on it all the time — driving runs in, staying calm. It’s natural.”
Bormet went 4 for 4, and Reagan out-hit Eagle Pass 9-2. The Rattlers also left eight stranded, including five in scoring position, entering the seventh.
“The difference in the game was that we couldn’t get a big hit,” Reagan coach Chans Chapman said. “That was the biggest hit of (Bormet’s) young career right there.”
Reagan starter Troy Montemayor took a no-hitter one out into the sixth inning. He tallied the complete-game victory to improve to 7-1 in the playoffs.
“One thing we’ve learned to do as a team — everything is fighting,” Chapman said. “We kept telling (our team) after they got that one in the seventh inning was to keep fighting.” Original article of San Antonio Express News.