Earlier this week, varsity baseball played back-to-back games, one on Monday night and one on Tuesday. They fought hard against Lake Travis but fell to the Caveliers in extra innings 5-6. Tuesday was a different story, when the Trojans took the easy win against Del Valle 10-2.
Monday night baseball was highly competitive and took three extra innings in order to close out the game. Drew Mierl started on the mound for the Trojans, not allowing any runs from Lake Travis. Sophomore Ben Waisman relieved him from the bullpen in the bottom of the third inning when the Cavaliers notched their first two runs. By the end of the fourth, Lake Travis had tallied another three, with no answer from Anderson. It was the top of the fifth when the Trojans made it on the board, where a bunt from Seth Crowley scored Anderson’s first run of the game but also secured the first two outs in a double play. Going into the sixth, the Cavaliers were up by four runs, with the Trojans trailing 1-5. While the game started off slow for Anderson, the sixth inning was anything but. A line drive from Karsten Fidler drove in one, and Rylan Unnasch went up to bat with the bases loaded. He hit a hard ground ball, and an error from Lake Travis allowed Anderson to score four runs, to tie the score 5-5 mid-way through the sixth. The score remained tied throughout the seventh, meaning that the game had to go into an extra inning, which ended up turning into three extra innings. A double from Gus Begert in the eighth had the potential to notch another run for the Trojans, but the final out was caught before it amounted to anything. Both the eighth and the ninth innings passed with no runs scored, forcing the game into a tenth to break the tie. Anderson was unable to score when they were up to bat at the top of the inning and went into the bottom of the tenth with tensions running high. In the final play of the game, the Cavaliers stole second, which set them up to score after a walk-off single. Although the Trojans lost 5-6, it was a true test of their stamina, which held strong through the ten-inning match-up.
The following night, varsity baseball took the field again, this time against Del Valle. The Cardinals opened up scoring at the bottom of the first after they notched one run. Anderson wasn’t going to put up with that and promptly notched four runs off of a single from Jett Joseph and a double from Andrew Mason. After no answer from Del Valle, the Trojans tallied another three as a result of a ground ball from Trevin Winebright and a ground out from Stephen Szygenda; a passed ball allowed Winebright to score another run towards the end of the inning. By the bottom of the third, Anderson had established a dominant lead over the Cardinals, 7-1. After a quiet fourth inning, Del Valle tried to close the score gap and put a second run on the board, which would end up being their last of the game. At the top of the sixth, Karsten Fidler was able to cross home, closely followed by Rylan Unnasch after a single from Seth Crowley. A ground ball from Andrew Mason secured Anderson’s final run, and after an uneventful end to the inning, the Trojans took the win 10-2.
Anderson has had a tough few weeks playing challenging opponents, including Westlake and Lake Travis. The Del Valle series provides a welcome break from facing higher-ranked teams, building confidence as the end of season approaches and playoffs near. The Trojans take on Del Valle again on Friday night at Nelson Field, so come out and support the team.
