After some notable wins, like Junior Taylor Haddock’s walk off single to put Jesuit over the edge 2-1 vs. Arlington Martin and the dominating 10-3 win vs. Denton Guyer, Jesuit went into the V-Tool Tournament 3-0 and went 4-2. After starting out rocky, Jesuit Baseball is currently on a three-game winning streak and has scored 28 runs while only allowing seven runs in that three-game winning streak.
VS. Magnolia Heights
To kick off the V-Tool Tournament, Jesuit suffered a tough loss to Magnolia Heights 8-4 on Thursday. Magnolia had 10 hits and four walks on offense compared to the six hits, four walks by Jesuit’s offense.
Jesuit found themselves in an early hole after a 4-run 1st and 3-run second. Jesuit couldn’t come back from that hole, only cutting the deficit down to four runs. In five innings, senior Asher Levy allowed eight runs, walked three, and struck out two against Magnolia. After Asher, senior Wallace Archie came in for relief and only allowed one hit and one walk in two innings. For the offense, senior E’mar Fleming II drove in half of Jesuit’s points with a two-run shot. Then, Junior Taylor Haddock drove one in with a RBI double and Sophomore Roman Derichsweiler did the same with an RBI single. Now, Jesuit had to turn right back around to play No. 10 state-ranked Dripping Springs that same night of Thursday, February 27.
VS. Dripping Springs
Jesuit responded in a strong way later that night against Dripping Springs, winning a tight game 6-5. The first inning was quite eventful with Dripping Springs starting the inning with four runs and Jesuit responding with two runs with the help of E’mar Fleming II ‘s two-run home run, which is his second of the doubleheader. He also singled later in the game to cut the lead down to two in the third. Also in the third, with the bases loaded, Roman Derichsweiler drove in a run with a single and Senior Brooks Kowal walked-in a run to tie the game at five. The game-deciding run was when Junior Taylor Haddock drove in Junior Braxton Barber by a sacrifice bunt. Freshmen Jack Lattanzio was able to pitch a complete game against Dripping Springs with three strikeouts and 0 walks. This was a huge win for Jesuit as they split Thursday’s doubleheader.
“We were getting jobs done and executing when we needed to.” -Taylor Haddock ’26
VS. West Monroe
Beginning Day 2 of the V-Tool Invitational, Jesuit lost to West Monroe in a close shootout 8-9 in six innings. The game started off with Monroe going up 4-0. Jesuit almost mounted a comeback with the help of Junior Charlie Wilson’s home run in the fourth and Fleming’s and Wilson’s two RBI’s, respectively. They were down 4-3 in the fourth and 7-3 in the fifth. But when Jesuit was able to cut down the lead to one, it was too late as the game ended in the sixth due to time stoppage. Walks and errors killed the Rangers vs Monroe. Monroe only allowed four walks and two errors while the Rangers allowed eight walks and four errors. Despite having seven of those walks, Senior Sean Cullen only allowed one hit and gave up two earned runs in his three innings. The Rangers got some solid contact against Monroe, putting up ten hits to Monroe’s four. Positively, this was the Rangers last loss of the V-Tool Invitational.
VS. Kamehameha
The Rangers were able to once again split and dominate Kamehameha 11-1 in six innings. Things started slow for the Rangers as they let up one run in the first and didn’t score for the first three innings. Yet, they came out firing in the fourth, scoring four, then in the fifth, scoring three, lastly, scoring four again in the sixth. Haddock led the rangers with a spectacular four RBIs and Senior Cooper Thomas was right behind him with three RBIs via a bases clearing triple in the sixth. Junior Alex Barr left his mark on the game with a home run in the sixth. The whole Jesuit team hit for a .286 average with six hits while drawing five walks. Meanwhile, Senior Patrick Brady shined against Kamehameha. Brady pitched a complete game allowing three hits, one earned run, and striking out a mind boggling ten batters. After going 2-2 so far in the V-Tool Invitational, it was time for the last double header for Jesuit on Saturday, March 1.
VS. Maryknoll
This game was all Jesuit from the beginning. Jesuit came out firing and scored five in the first with the help of a Fleming RBI single, who then scored later that inning from an error. One of three errors from Maryknoll. Following that, Wilson hit a three-run home run to put a five spot for the Rangers in the first. He led the team with three RBIs. Jesuit never looked back from that, scoring one more in the third and four more in the fourth via RBIs from Cooper Thomas, Roman Derichsweiler, and Senior Hogan Civello. In 23 at bats, Jesuit put up 10 hits and drew two walks. Sophomore Cooper Patton threw a complete game shoutout gem. He gave up three hits, two walks, no earned runs, and struck out three. Due to time stoppage, the game had an abrupt stop in the fifth inning.
“We were able to get the bats going and overall a great start to the season, excited to see what the team can do the rest of the season.” -Hogan Civello ’25
VS. Frenship
To close out the V-Tool Invitational, Jesuit defeated Frenship in a close 7-6 victory. The first inning consisted of a two-run first inning from Frenship then a four run bottom of the first from Jesuit. Jesuit then added more to their lead with three in the second with the help of Fleming’s and Haddock’s 2 RBI’s while three runs were scored off errors. Frenship tried to rally back with a four-run fourth inning, but couldn’t climb out of their early deficit. Jesuit’s offense produced seven hits and four walks. Junior Jacob Martinez started for Jesuit allowing seven hits, three walks, two strike outs, and five earned runs. Coming in for relief was Senior Peyton Brown and in 2.1 innings, only allowed one hit, two walks, and he struck out one.
“The guys locked in and we got our sixth and seventh win of the year.” -Braxton Barber ’26
What’s Next?
Jesuit ended the V-Tool tournament 4-2 and improve their season record to 7-2. They are currently a top-10 baseball team in Texas. Now, they have District play.
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