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by MOSES LEOS III
It was an up and down week for the Rebel baseball team, but Hays came out on top Tuesday, displaying another example in hitting prowess, driving in 15 runs in the first and second innings, and decimating Seguin 16-0 in just five innings.
In midweek action, the Hays Rebel baseball team split their April 3 and April 6 contests. April 3 saw the Rebels rout Lockhart 10-0 in five innings; however, the team dropped their April 6 game to Schertz Clemens 3-1.
Tuesday night, the Rebels jumped out to a quick start, as senior center fielder Granger Studdard drove in the game’s first run via an RBI double to the left center field wall. “I saw that they had a shift on, pulling me to the right,” said Studdard, explaining his approach at the plate. “I just waited for an outside pitch, stayed patient and drove it to left field.”
Studdard’s double provided the groundwork for a torrent of Rebel runs. Five runs crossed the plate on five hits in the first inning, as Hays’ efforts allowed the team to bat around the order, sending 11 batters to the plate. The offensive outburst continued well into the second inning, as the Rebels sent an additional 15 batters in their next at bat. Ten runs were scored by Hays in the second, aided by four Matador errors. Highlighting the second inning barrage was third baseman Dalton Niles, who brought in three runs on a double to the right center field wall in his second at-bat of the inning.
“Everyone was patient, getting their pitch to hit,” Studdard said, describing how well Hays keyed on Seguin pitching. “We did a good job of driving the ball well, and keeping the ball from being batted down by the wind.”
Aiding the Rebel effort was pitcher Tyler Woodmansee, who completed all five innings, striking out seven Matador batters. While he struggled with control issues in the early going, his ability to recover and record outs kept Seguin from stringing together a big inning. “At first, I was not quite focused,” Woodmansee said. “However, I began to throw first pitch strikes. That helped me settle down and get outs.”
One more run was tallied in the Rebels’ favor, as they ran away with a 16-0 victory. Moving forward, the team is focused on finishing out the regular season on a winning note. “We hold our own destiny for the playoffs. We need to make sure we keep on winning,” Hays assistant coach Robert Gomez said. “Against Boerne Champion, we must quickly jump on them like we did (to Seguin) this evening and record a big win.”
The Rebels improve to 7-3 in district play, placing them in a three-way tie with Alamo Heights and Kerrville Tivy with four games left in the season. Hays hosts Champion on Friday evening at 7 p.m.
