Sometimes when you least expect it, adversity pops up in your face. This surprise knocks you off your game, after all, you thought it was going to be easy. Two quick wins and onto the next one. It was only the second round. There was no way we were going to lose this early. Now battling adversity, you have to reach into the farthest depths of your athletic ability and endurance to make a comeback, a fight that will only be won by pure determination.
After a fantastic performance against North Mesquite to win the Bi-District Championship, the Jesuit Rangers baseball team faced the Belton Tigers in the Area Playoff round on May 13th and 14th. Though losing a tough game on Friday night, the Rangers battled back to win a doubleheader on Saturday at Belton to secure the Area Championship. Veteran pitchers Kyle Muller ’16 and Jacob Palisch ’17 provided the stellar performances on the mound to secure two wins in a long doubleheader. Here’s a closer look at each of the three games:
On Friday, May 13th the Rangers took on the Tigers in front of a home crowd at Wright Field, with JJ Montenegro ’17 on the mound. However, the Tigers’ strong offense stymied the Rangers’ defense, as Belton jumped out to an early 6-0 lead through three innings. From there on out, the Tigers had control of the game, but not before a six-run Rangers rally in the bottom of the seventh innings in an attempt to salvage a win. A triple by Mark Ready ’17, an RBI double by Jared Bond ’16, and a near-grand slam sacrifice fly by Muller highlighted the Rangers’ scoring in that inning, but it wasn’t enough to come away with a win, as the Tigers won 13-6.
Head Coach Brian Jones remained optimistic despite the tough loss, as he was more impressed with the last-inning rally: “It showed us and showed Belton that we’re not gonna roll over and just give it to you. The big thing for us going into Saturday was knowing that we still had Kyle [Muller] and Jacob [Palisch] on the mound, and that’s a big comfort level for us offensively and defensively.”
With their backs against the wall, a must-win situation, the Jesuit baseball team headed out to Belton, TX to face the Tigers on their home field on Saturday, May 14th. To say the least, the Rangers were determined to come away with two tough wins that day. The first game of the doubleheader saw star pitcher Muller hold the Tigers to just one run on four hits while striking out an impressive fifteen batters over seven innings. The hero for the Rangers’ offense in this game would be Jared Bond, who hit a home run and had four RBI’s. The combination of Muller’s fantastic pitching and Bond’s batting prowess allowed Jesuit to earn a much-needed win and give them a shot at winning the Area championship.
Commenting on the do-or-die situation of the doubleheader on Saturday, Coach Jones noted, “It’s just a confidence level that we have, whether it’s in the pitchers or in our guys coming up to the plate. Every game it’s not the same guy. It’s someone who’s gonna step up and make a play.”
Later that day, Jacob Palisch took to the mound in an attempt to put the Tigers out of the playoffs and give Jesuit another Area Championship. Behind his nine strikeouts, he did just that, throwing a complete game shutout to finish the Tigers’ batting. With Palisch blanking Belton, the Rangers’ offense reciprocated by scoring two runs, highlighted by Bond’s RBI single and Ready’s RBI double. Those two runs were enough to eliminate the Tigers and allow Jesuit to move onto the next round.
Palisch complimented the team’s perseverance, noting, “We were able to bounce back the second game because we didn’t get down on each other, rather we came together as a team and fought for each other. We had great leadership and energy from everybody especially Kyle and I think that really made a big difference in the energy of the team to pull together and bounce back.”
Be sure to come out and support your Rangers as they take on the Highland Park Scots in a rematch of the Tollway Series from last year. The first game is scheduled for Thursday, May 19th at Highland Park, and then the second game will take place at Wright Field on Friday, May 20th.
