Flower Mound claims Texas (UIL) 6A baseball title behind 'one little rally,' pair of home runs
By Buck Ringgold | Photos by Andrew McCulloch
ROUND ROCK, Texas — Flower Mound seemed to be behind the eight ball going into Saturday’s Class 6A title matchup with Pearland.
The Oilers had come in on a roll, having won 25 of their previous 26 ballgames, and had dispatched Austin Westlake in a run-rule win in Friday’s semifinals. Meanwhile, the Jaguars used up one of their best pitchers on short notice in their semifinal Friday and had to go to the bullpen early Saturday.
But the Jaguars were tenacious, resilient and opportunistic, and countered what Pearland was throwing at them. As a result, the Jaguars were the ones hoisting the title trophy in the end.
They also got a pair of two-RBI home runs, in the third from Adrian Rodriguez and a two-run insurance shot in the sixth from Sam Erickson, as the Jaguars held off the Oilers, 6-4, at the Dell Diamond.
“Sometimes, we get one little rally going and that’s all we need,” Erickson said. “We’ve just got to get that energy back, and it’s all about momentum.”
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It was the first state title since 2014 for the Jaguars (37-10-2).
“It’s amazing; I can’t describe it at all,” Erickson said.
“We had a rough schedule coming into this, and I’m grateful for it honestly because we were well-prepared. We really just pull together as a family, and if anything goes wrong, we know we’ve got another guy that can step up at any moment and give us a chance to respond.”
Flower Mound also escaped a bases-loaded jam in the top of the seventh. Jaguar relief pitcher Evan Rollison was down 3-1 in the count to Pearland’s Caden Ferraro, the team’s leadoff hitter who already had two hits on the day.
But Rollison won the duel, as he got Ferraro to hit a grounder right to first baseman Cole Ridenour. Ridenour took a few steps to the bag, and the Jaguars quickly engulfed one another in joyous revelry.
“Oh man, I saw the grounder and after the game, Cole was like, ‘I wanted this grounder,’ and we got the grounder to get (Ferraro) out and we all celebrated,” Erickson said.
That was the final missed opportunity for the Oilers (38-7-1), who were seeking their first title since 1980. Pearland had at least one hit in every inning, but the Oilers stranded a total of 12 baserunners.
Flower Mound went in front to stay in the bottom of the third, when Rodriguez - with one out and a runner on base - launched a ball to the grassy berm in front of the Dell Diamond's Home Run Porch in left field, breaking a tie and giving the Jags a 4-2 advantage.
It stayed 4-2 until the top of the sixth, when Pearland’s Jace Caceras hit a deep shot of his own to left, leading off the inning and cutting Flower Mound’s lead to a run.
The Oilers then had runners on second and third with one out. Nico Partida - the winning pitcher in Friday’s semifinal win against Westlake - hit a line drive that was caught by Jaguar center fielder Sam Erickson.
Flower Mound got an additional break when the runner at third was called out for leaving the bag early and not tagging up. That resulted in an inning-ending double play, keeping the Jags in the lead.
After Andrew Robinson doubled to lead off the Jaguar half of the sixth, Erickson - a junior who is committed to Texas A&M - stepped up and provided insurance, drilling a pitch into the bullpen in left-center to put Flower Mound up by three, 6-3.
“We faced 90 (miles per hour) from the left side for two days in a row now and (Friday, in the Jaguars’ semifinal win against Cypress Woods) we got two different pitches from the left side and we were seeing it and we’ve been seeing it all playoffs, and we knew it was just another day, so we just had to do what we do,” Erickson said.
Rodriguez, a junior who is also committed to Texas A&M, was named the game’s MVP. He went 2-for-3 with his two-run homer as the Jags finished with nine hits.
Ridenour also went 2-for-3, including a single in the bottom of the first to give Flower Mound a 2-0 lead. Erickson went 2-for-4 with two RBIs and two runs scored.
The Jaguars appeared to be thin on pitching after Zack James - who was likely Saturday’s starter - had to throw on Friday after the original starter was scratched due to a pregame injury.
But Mason Arnold gave his team a lift with his relief outing.
He came on with one out in the second and threw four innings, allowing one run, while striking out three. Rollison went the last 1 2/3 innings for the save.
Pearland had 11 hits on the day. Caceras was 2-for-3 with his home run and two RBIs, Damian Landry was 2-for-3 and Ferraro and Braeden Morse also had two-hit games.
