Former Hays teammates (l-r) Brandon Lawrence, Colten Boothe and Jon Gonzales are coming off solid freshman baseball seasons in college and are now leading the Austin Gold Sox to success this summer. (Photo by Joel San Miguel)
by MARK CAUL
It’s been a year since they played their final high school baseball game at Hays High, but some things never change.
Jon Gonzales can still hit a baseball a mile. Brandon Lawrence is still snagging everything in sight in centerfield and Colton Boothe is still as steady as can be.
The only difference is now the trio is doing it at the next level as a part of the Austin Gold Sox of the prestigious Centex Collegiate Baseball League.
After very successful freshman campaigns in college, they were all recruited heavily by Gold Sox General Manager Wayne Elliott, who has been a major figure in the near two-decade run of one of the most successful summer baseball franchises in Central Texas.
“We have had a great deal of success in our eighteen years,” Elliott said. “We have been fortunate enough to able to attract some of the best talent in the area.”
The Austin Gold Sox were formed in 1992 as a part of the Zaragoza League to give local collegiate players who wanted to stay closer to home and play summer baseball a place to compete against some of the best players in the state.
“The name Gold Sox was chosen because the sponsorship money that came from Capital Beverage came from the Coors Extra Gold brand,” Elliott said. “We thought that Gold Sox was a better baseball sounding name than the suggested Gold Crush.”
The Gold Sox qualified for their first National Baseball Congress World Series in 1994 and have been a permanent fixture at the event. They have only missed out on the World Series just one season (in 2003).
Currently, the Gold Sox boast a league-leading 12-2 record in the eight-team league that includes teams from Austin, Round Rock and San Antonio and are aiming for another deep run at the NBC World Series in Kansas, where some of the best collegiate players from all over the nation will be competing August 1-15.
Gonzales, who led the state in homers in high school last season with 17, remains an offensive force for the Gold Sox with a .407 average, pacing the team with 23 RBIs to go along with four home runs in only 15 games.
Boothe has played a variety of positions including outfield and first base during the summer season while Lawrence, the team’s starting centerfielder, has played in 14 of the team’s 15 games. Neither Boothe nor Lawrence has committed an error so far this summer.
“Those three are just solid baseball players,” Elliott said. “It’s pretty cool that they have been playing together so long.”
Both Gonzales and Boothe were solid contributors on their Temple Junior College squad that advanced to the National Junior College World Series this past May, where they finished 2-2.
Gonzales went 5-for-14 at the World Series, after completing his freshman year hitting .361 with six bombs, seven doubles and 44 RBIs.
Boothe was 7-for-12 in the World Series, finishing with a triple and home run after a first year that saw him hit four homers, eight doubles and 27 RBIs.
Meanwhile, their current Gold Sox teammate Lawrence, who attended Blinn Junior College in Brenham, also excelled in his first season at the collegiate level. Lawrence started in 49 of the Bucs 52 games while slugging nine homers, seven doubles, two triples and completing the campaign with 34 RBIs.
Though the three were a huge part of one of the best baseball classes Hays has ever produced, their extra-inning upset loss to Little-Cypress Mauriceville in the playoffs in 2009 still remains fresh in their minds.
“We know we missed a golden opportunity to maybe go to the state tournament because we had such a good team,” said Boothe. “But we know all it takes is one loss and you’re out. It’s something that still drives us.”
This summer, the trio will try to lead a different baseball team with a similar winning tradition to a national summer league title.
Incidentally, five former Gold Sox have played their way into the major leagues, including current major leaguers Scott Linebrink, Ross Ohlendorf and Jesse Crain.
Former Texas Longhorn star Brooks Kieschnick was the first Sox player to reach the major leagues.
Boothe is excited at the opportunity for him and his former Rebel teammates to chase a title together again as teammates.
“Although I played with Jon in college, it’s still fun to come out here and compete together on such a good team,” Boothe said. “We want to bring the same winning mentality we had at Hays to the Gold Sox. So far we’ve played good baseball. Hopefully, we can continue what we‘re doing.”
All Gold Sox home games are played at St. Michael’s High School in Austin with the regular season finale taking place on July 7.
The NBC World Series will be held August 1-15 in Wichita, Kansas.
