Despite the pressure of a one-game, win-or-go-home series, the Jesuit Rangers remained calm and, through a combination of stellar pitching and explosive offense, defeated the Humble Atascocita Eagles 9-1 at Concordia University. Originally a best-of-three game series, severe weather on the first night forced the teams to postpone the game to the next day, which caused the series to consist of one game. Stanford commit Jacob Palisch ’17 threw an exceptional game on the mound, while nearly every player in the batting order contributed to building the run count.
On Friday, June 3rd, the Rangers traveled down to Concordia University in Austin, Texas to face the Atascocita Eagles in the Regional Finals of the UIL 6A Region II Baseball Playoffs. This round was the last before the State Championship Tournament, which Jesuit had previously played in last year. Both teams scored early in the game, and the game was tied 1-1 in the top of the second before the umpires called a rain delay. Mark Ready ’17 cracked a single that scored fellow junior Alex Lengyel to get the Rangers on the board. However, a torrential downpour descended upon the area, not letting up for hours, as both teams attempted to ride out the storm. Eventually, the umpires made the decision to postpone the game to the next day, and the series would now consist of one game.
The Jesuit Rangers arrived early the next day on Saturday, June 4th to continue last night’s postponed game. This game would be the only game of the series, so the players made sure to play their A-game in order to keep their playoff run alive. The teams would resume the game just as it was yesterday before the game was called: a tied score of 1-1, with one out in the top of the second inning. The Jesuit coaching staff decided to stick with Palisch, who had pitched a few innings, performing well. This coaching decision paid off well, as the junior southpaw only allowed one hit that day, no-hitting the Eagles from the second to the sixth inning, striking out thirteen batters. This extraordinary effort has been consistent with Palisch’s other performances throughout the playoffs, pitching complete games while racking up the Ks.
While Palisch kept Atascocita’s scoring to the bare minimum, the Ranger offense at first remained quiet, but exploded in the final two innings, scoring eight runs to prevent any comeback from the Eagles. In the sixth inning, catcher and Purdue commit Bryce Bonner ’16 laid down a sacrifice bunt to score Kyle Muller ’16, who ended up on third base on a triple, to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. However, the offensive explosion came in the seventh inning, with singles from Jared Kengott ’16, Muller and Jared Bond ’16, a sacrifice fly from Pete Hamrick ’18, and a double from Ready scored multiple Jesuit Rangers to extend their lead to nine runs. After the offensive outburst, Palisch came in and sealed the game with a strikeout, sending the Rangers to the state tournament for the second consecutive year.
Talking about the team’s back-to-back state run, JJ Montenegro ’17 said that “It is very meaningful especially after losing a lot of key players. It just shows how much we’ve come together as a team to win games. Everyone has played a vital role in this teams success and it just goes to show how we can handle adversity no matter what the situation.”
The Jesuit Rangers will now face Houston Langham Creek at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas in the State Semifinal game on Friday, June 10th at 12pm. Come out and support your Rangers as they fight to make history in the program!
