D'Hanis pitches second straight shutout, beats Nazareth for 1A Texas (UIL) State Baseball Championship

ROUND ROCK, Texas — It was only a matter of time until D’Hanis broke through.

The Cowboys were steadily slapping the ball around the diamond from the first pitch in the Class 1A UIL State Baseball Championship game against Nazareth, but were held to one run through the first four frames.

But during a chaotic top of the fifth inning, D’Hanis broke the seal.

Five straight Cowboys’ hitters reached base safely to lead off the inning before ultimately chasing two of the Swifts’ three pitchers and plating three runs.

That offensive onslaught, along with senior pitcher Ryan Hendry’s scoreless complete game on the mound, helped power D’Hanis to a 4-0 win over Nazareth in a pitchers’ duel Thursday morning at Dell Diamond. Hendry, who was voted the MVP, allowed just three hits over seven innings.

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With the shutout victory, the Cowboys’ second straight at the 2022 Class 1A UIL Baseball State Tournament, D’Hanis secured the 1A state title marking its third state championship in program history and first since the team’s last state tournament appearance in 2019.

“My heart was pounding, my whole body was shaking. It was terrifying, but I got to the mound and I was like, ‘I know I’ve got this, I just have to trust my stuff,” Hendry said.

“It’s amazing because two years ago or three years ago, I watched a video of Alex Major's pitch that won it for D’Hanis and I said, ‘I want to do that and get that last strike.’ And I did that.”

“Oh, man, that was awesome. It was a great win, talk about a great championship game. Both teams played really high level defense, both pitchers pitched really well today and it just came down to one inning where we kind of broke it open,” D’Hanis head coach Todd Craft said.

“And that was just huge for us. We left a lot of runners out there and had some chances early. We just couldn't quite capitalize, but it was a credit to them, they pitched well and made plays when they needed to, so it was just a great baseball game.”

D’Hanis initially broke the seal with a bases-loaded walk with two outs during the top of the fourth, but the Cowboys cracked the game wide open during a three-run fifth inning.

Hendry sparked the rally with a leadoff double down the line in left field.

That prompted the Swifts to make their first pitching change, bringing in senior Trent Gerber as a reliever after he threw 95 pitches Wednesday in the state semifinals.

Junior third baseman Daelyn Gonzales notched the first RBI of the frame with a one-out single and moved up to second after Nazareth walked JJ Garcia in the ensuing at-bat.

Sophomore shortstop Raine Redden then slapped an RBI single to right field and junior right fielder Eusebio Tapia plated another run on a fielder’s choice within the infield. The Cowboys forced Nazareth to make its second pitching change of the inning after those back-to-back RBI opportunities, as junior Luke Schulte took over on the mound for the Swifts.

The lopsided inning helped D’Hanis boost its lead and hold onto it for good after leaving eight runners stranded on base during the second, third and fourth innings.

“(It was about) staying confident at the plate. We weren't striking out, we were having good at bats. We hit a couple balls hard, we just couldn't find a gap and we couldn't find a hole, that’s a credit to them,” Craft said.

“Our offense has been so powerful all year. That's kind of what we hang our hats on is our offense and we felt like it was going to come. It was just a matter of time and eventually we got a couple of key hits.”

Despite having a lineup dotted with big bats throughout, D’Hanis leaned on its defense and a dominant performance on the mound by Hendry.

The Cowboys’ senior ace hurled a complete-game shutout, struck out six and allowed just three singles to the Swifts during an efficient outing.

Hendry, who relied on a steady mixture of fastballs and curveballs to keep Nazareth’s hitters off balance, faced his toughest test of the day in the bottom of the first with runners at second and third when junior left fielder Layton Herrmann made an unassisted double play to end the inning and help D’Hanis escape an early jam.

“On a high ball like that, I didn’t know if he was going to go, but (I knew) I just gotta react so I took third by myself,” Herrmann said. “It definitely was a huge play with runners in scoring position. It was fun running to get two outs.”

The season-ending loss dropped Nazareth to 21-2 overall and stopped the Swifts in the Class 1A UIL Baseball State Tournament for the second straight season.

The Cowboys, meanwhile, finish at 28-3 overall with the victory and end the year in the midst of a 14-game winning streak.

D’Hanis also becomes the state’s only school to capture both Texas high school baseball and softball state championships in 2022. The Cowgirls beat Hermleigh 6-2 to win the 1A UIL Softball State Championship last week in Austin.

“We just have great all-around athletes (in D’Hanis),” Hendry said. “And honestly, we’re just the best at stick sports.”

Here are photos from Thursday's title game:

All photos by Tommy Hays