Reagan hoped its first trip to the UIL state baseball tournament would result in a championship.
But the Rattlers couldn’t overcome a team that showed patience at the plate and dominance on the mound in a 10-0 Flower Mound win in the Class 5A state championship Saturday at Dell Diamond. The game was halted in the fifth inning via the 10-run rule.
It was Flower Mound’s first state title after falling shy in two other state tournament appearances.
Flower Mound pounced on Reagan early, scoring seven runs in the first two innings. The Jaguars added two in the fourth and one in the fifth. Flower Mound pounded out 11 hits and worked deep into the count in many of its at-bats. Reagan used three pitchers who combined for 124 pitches, compared to 48 for Flower Mound.
“They didn’t swing at any bad pitches, and they made us throw strikes,” Reagan coach Chans Chapman said. “At this level, you’ve got to throw strikes. On the other side of it, we hit some balls that were right at them. But, you know what? That’s baseball. That’s just the way it goes.”
Ben Brookover got the start for Reagan. He left after recording one out. Trent Yeglic and Connor Hoffron finished the game. Chapman said he didn’t entertain the thought of inserting senior Troy Montemayor, the Rattlers’ ace who threw 118 pitches Friday in Reagan’s 5-4 win over Humble Atascocita in the semifinals. Montemayor was 8-1 in the postseason and had pitched on back-to-back days against Laredo Alexander two weeks earlier in the regional semifinals.
“Troy gave us everything he had to get us here,” Chapman said.
Flower Mound senior Seth Jordan, who was named the game’s MVP, allowed one hit and struck out three in 41/3 innings. He and B.J. Myers, who came on in relief with one out in the fifth, combined for a one-hitter and retired the last nine Reagan batters. Reagan had only two baserunners.
“The game went by really fast when we were at the plate, and when they were at the plate, they were taking pitches and making our pitchers work,” said Reagan sophomore shortstop Andres Sosa, who is committed to Texas. “Great job by them. I tip my hat to them.”
Reagan had hoped to make history by becoming the first San Antonio school to win a state 5A championship. The Rattlers were only the third team from the city to advance to the 5A state title game (MacArthur in 1987 and South San in 1992). The last time a San Antonio team won a state baseball championship in UIL’s highest classification was 1968 (Highlands in 4A).
“What happened today was tough, but it doesn’t take away from the season we had,” Chapman said. “Obviously, we weren’t shooting for the silver medal, but we had an incredible year.” Original article courtesy of SA Express News.