Texas (UIL) 5A baseball semifinal roundup: Magnolia West reaches 5A title behind James Ellwanger's near-no-hitter
By Buck Ringgold
ROUND ROCK, Texas - James Ellwanger wasn’t going to lie. He wanted a no-hitter.
On the flip side, Ellwanger gladly settled for the win, putting him and his Magnolia West teammates one win away from a Class 5A state title.
Ellwanger took a no-hitter into the seventh of Thursday’s 5A semifinal against Frisco Reedy, where it was broken up with two outs. He ended up not finishing the game, as Caylon Dygert came on to get the final out as the Mustangs advance with a 3-0 win at the Dell Diamond.
“Overall, I thought I did really well. … Honestly, I’m still pretty upset about not getting the no-hitter in the end, but we got the ‘W,’ so that’s all that matters right now,” said Ellwanger, a senior who plans to pitch at Dallas Baptist next season.
“Really, my curveball was what was working a lot, so I was throwing it a lot, and then the fastball on top of that. Then mixing it up with the slider and the split.”
Ellwanger - who had pitched two no-hitters previously - gave up the one hit, issued one walk and hit two batters in his 6 2/3 innings of work. He also struck out 17 batters.
Not bad, considering Ellwanger was pitching on four days rest, having went last Saturday in Magnolia West’s regional championship win.
“That was fun to watch, man. … James was outstanding (Thursday); he’s a big-time pitcher,” Magnolia West coach Travis Earles said. “The only way he bounces back from last week is taking good care of his body and he’s a hard worker. He does all the things you’ve got to do on four days rest to prepare.”
Magnolia West pitcher James Ellwanger
Ellwanger struck out the first two hitters he faced in the top of the seventh, bringing up Reedy’s Caden Jones. On a 1-0 count, Jones lined a clean single up the middle to break Ellwanger’s no-hit bid.
Then, Ellwanger hit the next batter, allowing Reedy (28-16) to have the tying run at home plate. With a pitch count at 98, Earles elected to take out Ellwanger and put in Caylon Dygert, who had been catching Ellwanger.
“Our pitch count got us and all those things, but (Ellwanger) wouldn’t trade it for the world, either,” Earles said. “He gave us a chance to win, and when he takes the start, that’s goal number one, to give us a chance to win and he did that (Thursday).”
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Dygert got the save by striking out the only batter he faced.
“I had full confidence in (Dygert), I knew he was going to get it done and he did, and it was awesome,” Ellwanger said. “I’m proud for him.”
Ellwanger got all the support he needed in the bottom of the third, as West (35-5) broke a scoreless game with two runs.
Hayden Carpenter led off the inning with a single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt from Wade Nobles. That brought up Dawson Park, the leadoff batter, who hit a deep ball that bounced over the fence in left center for a ground-rule double, scoring Carpenter.
Park then took third on a base hit from Cody Palacios before scoring on Caldwell McFaddin’s sacrifice fly to make it 2-0.
West added an insurance run in the sixth on Jackson Blank’s RBI single.
Park and Palacios each went 2-for-3 for the Mustangs, who had seven hits on the night.
Magnolia West will now face Argyle, which beat Boerne Champion in Thursday’s other semifinal, for the 5A championship this Saturday at the Dell Diamond.
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Argyle 5, Boerne Champion 2
Through three innings, the Eagles trailed 2-0 and were held hitless.
Things changed drastically starting in the bottom of the fourth, as Argyle scored two runs to tie the score, though the Eagles still hadn’t had a hit. They finally broke through in the fifth with a one-out single, setting things up for a two-spot that put them in front to stay.
Grady Emerson led off that inning by drawing a walk. With one out, Alex D’Angelo recorded Argyle’s first base hit, a single to center as Emerson went to third.
Emerson then scored on Park Prater’s sacrifice fly to right. D’Angelo added another run by scoring from third base on a balk.
Prater had his second sac fly on the night in the bottom of the sixth, giving the Eagles (35-10-2) their final run.
Argyle ended up with three hits. However, that was more than the Chargers, who only got two hits.
Reid Ross pitched the final 4 2/3 innings of relief for the Eagles and allowed no runs on no hits, striking out three. He also got help from his defense, especially late.
In the top of the sixth, Champion (33-12-1) had a runner on first with one out. A ball was then lined right to Argyle shortstop JC Davis, who made a diving catch before throwing to first to double off the runner and end the inning.
The Eagles also turned a game-ending double play with one out in the top of the seventh. They had three double plays.
Gage Goldberg of Champion had the only extra-base hit, a double.
