Baseball Advances after Exciting Playoff Win
Last weekend the Warrior baseball team traveled to Mesquite, Texas, to face Dallas Christian in the first round of the TAPPS 1-4A state championship race. The Warriors came in as the No. 3 seed, and the Chargers of Dallas Christian came in as the No. 2 seed
Head Baseball Coach Johnny Isom
The Warrior bats wasted no time dropping four runs on the Chargers in their very first at-bat. Justin Stephens singled up the middle to score Jonathan Smith. Nick Powers continued his hot hitting and drove the first pitch he saw of the day over the right field wall for a 3-run homerun.
“Powers is in a zone right now, and he is hitting the ball about as hard as you can,” said Isom. “It is fun to watch.”
After a half of an inning, the Warriors would take an early 4-0 lead and appear to have the game wrapped up.
However, the Chargers had a little fight in them and were not ready to lie down. After two scoreless innings by both teams, the Charger bats began to wake-up. In a very un-Warrior like inning where the Warrior defense committed three errors, the Chargers came back and scored four runs of their own and tied the game. A great defensive play by Trevor Simms in centerfield prevented two more Charger runs from scoring and finally ended the inning and got the Warrior offense back at the plate.
Staying in his zone, Nick Powers came up big again for the Warriors, and on the second pitch he saw on the day, Powers hit a lined shot off of the Charger scoreboard. Power’s second homerun of the day gave the Warriors a one-run lead, and a lead that the Warriors would never give up.
In the top of the fifth inning, senior first basemen Michael Smith doubled off the centerfield wall plating Jonathan Smith and giving the Warriors a two-run lead. That was all starting pitcher Chad Nack needed to close out the season on Dallas Christian. Nack earned the win, pitching all seven innings and striking out four Charger batters. Nack is an amazing 13-1 on the season.
“We didn’t play our best game, but we played well enough to win, and that’s what it is all about in the playoffs,” said Isom. “I’m very proud of the boys for finding a way to win the game against a very good team.”
The win against Dallas Christian earned the Warriors a bi-district championship. The next round of the playoffs will be at regionals where they will face Houston 2nd Baptist. The date and time have yet to be determined.