Fighting back from a game down in the playoff series against Rockwall, the Jesuit Baseball team forced a game three, winning the second game of the series in a shutout. Game 3, the deciding game of the series, was scheduled for Saturday, May 10 at Jesuit.
The multiple tweets and Facebook posts calling Jesuit fans to come out and support the Jesuit Baseball team seemed to work as the stands filled with student and parent supporters.
The thrill of Jesuit playoffs always excites students to come out and support, whether it be for football, soccer, or baseball. This warm, spring afternoon, however, was to be the culmination of a brilliant season for the Ranger baseball team, fans anxious to see how the team would fair.
Junior Darius Hill, a second year varsity player, said, “We messed up in the first game,” but that like the second match, “we’ll come back fighting.” This deciding game of the series would prove to be one of the most exciting games of the season.
Rockwall lead off batting. Junior Harrison Folk got three quick outs, sending Jesuit up to bat, and stayed composed as he cleaned up an error, .
Three consecutive hits by Jesuit produced two runs, propelling the score to 2-0 in favor of Jesuit at the end of the first. Rockwall, showing a fighting spirit, came back in the second inning to put a run on the Rangers and adjusted the score to 2-1 with the Rangers up to bat.
Responding to Rockwall, Junior Chase Jennings gave Jesuit another run to make the lead by 2 again. Jesuit headed into the third with the score 3-1.
Quick pitching from Harrison in the third and fourth innings left no room for any 
runs for the Rockwall Jackets. Jesuit batters continued the energy into the bottom of the fourth, with the Rangers producing another run off of a couple of Jesuit hits, increasing the lead to 4-1.
All seemed to be going well until the top of the sixth inning. A 3 run homer by the Rockwall Jackets tied up the game and took away Jesuit’s lead that had held up for five innings.
Rockwall continued its hot streak into the seventh inning with 2 more quick runs. Jesuit had to respond soon to come up with 2 runs to equalize against the Jackets, now leading for the first time all game.
An anxious remaining three innings came out empty for both teams; the score remained 6-4 for Rockwall at the end of the ninth inning. Jesuit’s season all came to an end in a matter of a couple innings.
But the Jesuit Baseball team will be remembered as the team that nearly went undefeated during the season, the team that beat Richardson 17-0 in their last season game, the team that beat Plano East in the Bi-District playoffs, and the team that impressed everyone with its successes and accomplishments despite being expected to not make it as far.
Harrison Folk said that despite not making it further into the playoffs as the team had hoped to do, “We had a great season thanks to all the hard work from the guys.” The four years of dedication and leadership from the seniors will truly be missed next year, but rising seniors such as Darius Hill, Harrison Folk, and Chase Jennings will be sure to fill the leadership role and lead the team to another successful season.
Thanks to all the players, coaches, and supporters for another wonderful season of baseball. Good luck into next year; we can’t wait to be back supporting you all for another playoff run next season!
