History doesn’t favor Reagan as it prepares to play in its first UIL state baseball tournament.
No team from San Antonio has won a state championship in Class 5A. The last team from inside the city limits to win state in UIL’s highest classification was Highlands (4A) in 1968.
In fact, only three teams from Region IV — Victoria Stroman (1985), Corpus Christi Moody (2004) and Corpus Christi Carroll (2010) — have won 5A state titles.
Rather than be discouraged by this trend, it only has given the Rattlers something to prove.
“I believe we have a huge chip on our shoulder because no one has done it since 1968,” senior first baseman Ben Brookover said. “At the beginning of the season when we had our team meeting, we didn’t talk about making it to state. We talked about winning it.”
Now, it’s Reagan’s time to prove it.
The Rattlers (33-6) take the first step at 3 p.m. Friday when they play Humble Atascocita (31-8-1) in a 5A semifinal at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. The winner will play either Pearland (37-5) or Flower Mound (32-12-1) for the state title at 11:30 a.m. Saturday.
“We know as far as Region IV goes at the 5A level, we are not always regarded as one of the top ones, especially when they talk about Houston or Dallas,” Reagan coach Chans Chapman said. “It’s big for our school, it’s big for our program and it’s big for San Antonio.”
While the historical implications are huge, Reagan hasn’t changed its preparations for the biggest weekend in the program’s existence. Country music blasted, as always, during practice this week. The routine is the same, but the stakes are much higher.
The Rattlers are beginning to understand that.
“It means a lot to us,” senior second baseman Drew Brooks said. “Right now, it might not seem like that big of a deal because we are caught up in the moment. If we do pull through and win it — to be the first team in that long — would be a big accomplishment for us and San Antonio.”
The Rattlers are thrilled to be at the state tournament after they had fallen short in five previous appearances in the regional finals. Reagan is the area’s last team standing in baseball.
The Rattlers know area fans outside of their own will be watching them — and they want to have a good showing.
“It’s more of a pride thing for San Antonio,” senior pitching ace Troy Montemayor said. “We have a lot of people counting on us to go out and play baseball. I feel like this is a big deal because it’s been a while.” Original article and image courtesy of San Antonio Express News.