I posted the following on the Texas forum this morning and thought some of you non-Texans might enjoy the story as well:
Gotta set the stage a bit. In Round 2 of area 4A playoffs, Boerne High School (near San Antonio) took on New Braunfels Canyon.
Boerne won the state 4A championship in 2004, but hasn't progressed very far in the playoffs since then. At this point, Boerne has only two college-bound players:
* Air Force signee Blair Kessler, who has a PG 8 rating
* Joel Warren, who is headed to D2 Abilene Christian.
Conversely, Canyon's team is chock full of talent, including:
* J.P. Ramirez, an outfielder who received a 10 at PG's National Showcase and has signed with Tulane. Ramirez is a two-time all-state and three-time all-district honoree who ranks 74th in Baseball America's Top 100 High School Prospects and No. 2 among outfielders from the state of Texas. Ramirez also ranks 54th in the PGCrossChecker.com prospect listing and stands as the No. 4 recruit in the state of Texas. He was a member of the 2007 U.S. Jr. National Team, the Texas Rangers Area Code squad, and earned Top Prospect honors at both the Area Code Games and Perfect Game National Showcases. He is hitting .516 for the season.
* Tyler Ogle, a catcher who received a 9 at PG's National Showcase and is headed to McLennan CC. His current BA is .468.
* Ryan Flowers, an outfielder who has an 8.5 PG rating and is headed to McLennan CC
* Matt James, a third baseman who has an 8 PG rating and is headed to San Jacinto JC
* Justin Kanas, a pitcher who has signed with D2 Incarnate Word.
Three of Canyon's players made the first and second teams for Louiville Slugger's Pre-Season High School All-American team.
In game 1 of Round 2, Canyon pounded four different Boerne pitchers in a 5 inning run-rule victory. The Greyhounds' prospects looked bleak, but Boerne came back and won Game 2 7-1, setting the stage for a third game showdown. Here is what transpired in Game 3:
Pinch-hit grand slam gives Boerne hard-fought win
By Lorne Chan
Lchan@express-news.net
If not for a bench-clearing brawl earlier in the game, Boerne junior Niko Gonzalez wouldn't have batted against New Braunfels Canyon on Saturday.
He'd never hit a ball over the fence in a game in his entire life, not even in Little League. Now Gonzalez was pinch-hitting for an ejected player with the score tied and the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh.
Gonzalez said he was just trying to make contact. Instead, he emptied the benches again.
Gonzalez's game-winning grand slam gave the Greyhounds a 10-6 victory over the Cougars, eliminating Canyon in the Class 4A second-round series to end a wild day at Smithson Valley High School.
“This is too perfect, too amazing,” Gonzalez said. “This is the best feeling I've ever had.”
A brawl in the fifth inning resulted in five ejections, including the spot in the order where Gonzalez ended up pinch-hitting.
With one out in the seventh and the game tied 6-6, Gonzalez quickly fell behind 0-2. He sent the next pitch over the right-center field wall.
“Magic just happened,” Boerne coach Chuck Foster said. “How do you explain it? Nobody believed in us and so many different things had to happen for us to be here.”
The Greyhounds (25-9) seemed doomed two days ago, when Canyon (29-5) dominated Boerne in Game 1 of the best-of-3 series, a 10-0, five-inning run-rule victory. Gonzalez also starred in Game 2, pitching a complete game in a 7-1 Boerne victory.
Brian Brademan (4-3) pitched a complete game for the Greyhounds on Saturday with 10 strikeouts.
Boerne will play Cedar Park Vista Ridge in the third round.
Gonzalez's grand slam was his second home run of the season, but the first was an inside-the-park blow. He entered the game with seven RBIs this season. His hit also provided the climax for the Greyhounds and Cougars' intense series that was nearly spoiled by a brawl.
In the bottom of the fifth, Boerne second baseman Taylor Davis tripled, scoring Blair Kessler to give the Greyhounds a 6-5 lead.
A throw to third base missed and Davis broke for home. Davis didn't slide, colliding hard with Canyon catcher Tyler Ogle, who brought his arms up and tagged Davis' head.
Davis fell to the ground from the impact and Ogle threw off his catcher's helmet, and it hit Davis on the side of the face. Boerne players rushed the field immediately from the dugout, Canyon's bench also cleared, and multiple fights broke out. Foster even took a punch to the chin.
The game was delayed for 15 minutes while umpires and coaches sorted out the mess. Two players from Boerne and one from Canyon were ejected for the brawl, while Ogle and Davis were ejected for the collision.
Boerne athletic director Stan Leech said he and Foster will discuss any further disciplinary action today. Canyon athletic director Les Davis said he didn't expect more disciplinary action for Cougars players.
“In 40 years of coaching, I've never seen a high school situation like that,” Canyon coach Peter Garza said. “We're embarrassed by it.”
The teams did not shake hands after the game.
Davis went 3 for 3 at the plate, while Ogle hit a solo home run in the second inning before the ejections. Royce Rodriguez and J.P. Ramirez also had solo shots for Canyon.
Garza has coached baseball since 1968 and plans to retire. With Canyon's elimination, Saturday was his last game.
“He's a second father to me,” Ramirez said. “He's one of the greatest men I've ever met and we should have won this for him. He deserved it from us.”
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