Hays third baseman Stefen Navarro gets ready to fire the ball across the infield during the Rebels' 16-10 playoff-clinching win over Lockhart Friday night. (Photo by Liza Anna Amezquita)
By JASON GORDON
The Rebels aren’t a perfect baseball team, but they’re a playoff baseball team.
After an up-and-down season that included being swept by Lehman, the resilient Rebs clinched a playoff spot in the tough District 27-4A with a 16-10 home win over Lockhart Friday night.
Hays was able to secure victory despite falling behind 3-0 early. The Rebels also overcame numerous defensive errors in the contest.
“We overcame adversity like we have all season,” said Hays outfielder Mason Cervenka. “We’re in the playoff now, which was our goal all along. Now that we’re in it’s time to make another strong run.”
Hays improved to 7-3 in district play with only two games remaining. If the Rebels would have lost against Lockhart, the Rebs might have had to either beat Canyon on the road Thursday night or undefeated district-champ Smithson Valley next Friday at Rebel Field to secure a playoff spot.
“We talked all week that this was a must-win game,” Hays head coach Doug Ragsdale said. “We had to beat Clemens last Tuesday night, which we did, and then we knew we had to beat Lockhart to get into the playoffs. These kids have done a great job of battling back all season long and I’m very proud of what they have accomplished so far.”
After falling behind Lockhart 3-0 in the top of the second inning, Hays sent 12 men to the plate in the bottom of the second.
Matt Casas and Stefen Navarro singled, and Granger Studdard walked to load the bases. After Cervenka was hit by a pitch to make it 3-1, Victor Rubio tied the score with a two-RBI single to right field.
Hays wasn’t finished, as Trevor Ragsdale’s sacrifice fly brought home one more run, as did RBI singles by Chase Brunnemann and Casas. When the damage was done, Hays led 7-3.
“When we were down 3-0 no one was worried, we just started the game at a low energy level for some reason,” Rubio said. “Falling behind picked us back up and got us into the game.”
Lockhart trimmed the margin to 11-8 in the top of the fourth, but Hays surged ahead again thanks to Cervenka’s ground-rule double down the right-field line, and Masen Gully’s two-RBI double to the wall in center that plated Studdard and Cervenka. Miguel Valdez finished off the scoring barrage in the bottom of the fourth, and the Rebs led 14-8.
Trevor Ragsdale came on to pitch in the seventh inning, closing the door on the Lions.
“I think since the last loss to Lehman we’ve played together as a team better than we have all year long,” Gully said. “Being in the playoffs is a great feeling, but I still think we need to finish out district strong so we have some momentum once we get to the postseason.”
