A nine-run fifth inning provided the Westlake Chaparrals enough leverage Tuesday to cruise past the Hays Rebels in a 12-1 run-rule win in five innings.
While the Rebels clinched the best-of-3 series with victories on March 14 and 15, Hays head coach James Howard plans to use the defeat as a learning opportunity heading into a critical three-game set against Lehman.
“I told the guys they have to be mentally tougher than that,” Howard said. “We are going to learn from it and I think it’s going to make us better. There are things we have to improve on.”
Hays (10-6, 2-4) struggled to obtain consistency from its pitching staff and bullpen Tuesday, Howard said. Many of the problems stemmed from an inability to throw strikes, which subsequently led to pitchers falling behind to Chaparral batters at the plate.
Westlake leapt out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the third inning, highlighted by an RBI single from Luke Dunlap.
Hays countered for a run in the bottom half of the third via an RBI sacrifice ground ball from Seth Stephenson.
But the Rebel pitching staff couldn’t get out of its own way in the top of the fifth inning. A leadoff walk ballooned into a 47-minute half-inning that had 13 Chaparral batters face six Rebel pitchers.
Four of Westlake’s nine runs in the top of the fifth were scored via a walk with the bases loaded. Howard said the team’s bullpen “didn’t get the job done,” which he said was inexcusable.
“When you’re number is called, you’ve got to go in and throw strikes,” Howard said. “Plain and simple, we didn’t throw strikes tonight and you don’t win games if you don’t throw strikes.”
On the opposite end, Rebel bats were silenced by Chaparral pitcher Ben Ludwig, who in five innings struck out 11 and allowed only one run on one hit.
“He got ahead of batters and did a good job of locating his pitches,” Howard said. “You have to tip your cap to him. They did what they needed to and that’s the difference in the game.”
Tuesday’s outcome, however, was a complete 180-degree shift from the first two games of the series. Hays opened the series with an 8-1 win March 14, followed by an 8-5 victory in game two on March 15.
Howard said the Rebels were confident heading into the Westlake series after battling against top-ranked Lake Travis. Assisting the Rebels were the pitching efforts of Aidan Martinez and Drew Cooper, who were the winning pitchers in the first two games of the Westlake series.
Strong defense also played a vital role in Hays notching its earlier wins over Westlake. Central to the effort was a triple play turned March 17 by Martinez, who at the time was playing at first base.
The play was made when Westlake had runners on first and second base with no outs late in the contest.
“It was a rally killer for Westlake,” Howard said. “It was neat to be part of that. It was a great play on Aidan’s part.”
Improving the team’s mental state, primarily the ability to not let their guard down, is Howard’s goal moving ahead
“We have to do a better job when adversity presents itself,” Howard said.
