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BANDERA BASEBALL TAKES DISTRICT
CHAMPIONSHIP
by Sandy
Jennings
Bandera, Texas
● April 23, 2008
In a game that
had both Bandera and Llano fans on the edge of their
seats in Bandera, it all came down to a last at bat, a
desperate advance on a passed ball and a burning desire
to ‘win it all’ exploding from the Bulldog dugout.
With a double
from Ethan Lutz( that scored two runs and tied the game
at 9-9, Zach McClain stepped onto the field as a pinch
runner for Lutz with one mission—cross home plate and
celebrate a district title with his team.
An opposite field drive to
the right side of the field from clean-up hitter Brandon
Jennings sent McClain onto third with an “advancing
ground out” and the 2nd out of the inning. A
wild pitch intended for batter Tyler Vakey was all Coach
Richard Vossen needed to send McClain on his way. A
scramble for home sent Llano’s catcher belly first into
the sand savagely trying to block McClain’s advance.
McClain fought for the plate and when the dust settled,
the umpire stood pointing to a dropped ball that lie
between two boys and a district championship.
With the runner safe,
Bandera ended the game victorious, 10-9 in the bottom of
the seventh. This win gave Bandera an 8-1 district
record, suffering through only one loss earlier to
Llano.
This storybook
ending came after a slow start, with Bandera trailing
0-7 in the bottom of the third inning. With Jennings up
to bat and Noah Robison and Lutz on base, the two ‘Dogs
hoped for a score and got three. Jennings sent a hard
drive down the third baseline sending both runners
across the plate on a double. The hits and runs kept
coming as Lutz and Michael Campbell scored RBIs and
Tyler Vakey tripled in the fifth. By the bottom of the
last inning, Bandera had trimmed the deficit to 7-9,
paving the way for the exciting 7th inning
that will long be remembered in Bandera. On the mound
for the Dogs’ were seniors Lutz, Vakey and Campbell with
Mitchell Hempstead behind the plate as catcher.
This victory was an accumulation of a hard fought
season, filled with many shut-outs by the ‘Dogs, seven
of them in district play and marked the 4th
Championship already this season for the Bulldogs who
also won the Lytle and Devine Tournaments and finished 3rd
in the prestigious Medina County Tournament (that
featured 8 Top 20 Teams from around the State) . Deep in
talent on the field and at bat and a specialized
coaching staff consisting of Richard Vossen, Nathan Haws
and Will Shahan, led to a successful regular season that
now opens the door for a State Tournament “run”. As
champions, Bandera will enjoy a bye in the first round
of the State Play-offs next week, will play a warm up
game with 4A Kerrville Tivy on May 2nd in
Kerrville at 7:00 PM, and then take the field again one
week later for the State Area Play-offs. Currently the
Bulldogs are 22-5-1 overall and ranked #14 in the State.
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PHOTO ATTACHED:
BHS_BB
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