The varsity baseball team suffered a heartbreaking 8-4 loss to Westlake in extra innings in the opening round of playoffs. After winning game two of the series to force a winner-take-all game three, the group came up just short of advancing. The loss marked the second year in a row in which the Vipers made the playoffs but fell to Westlake.
“The reason game three hurt so bad is because the game embodied what we had represented as a team all year,” senior pitcher Carson Tan said. “There was an option for us to not try as hard because we wanted to go to prom, or just not have the energy and will to fight through a three-game series, but instead we fought back from our back leg with two outs in the bottom of the seventh to tie it at 4-4. To work so hard and be so close and one swing from winning it, just to lose it in the next inning, hurt so bad.”
In the bottom of the seventh inning, the Vipers were down to their last out and trailing by three runs , but heroics from senior Marshall Linenberger, where he hit an RBI single and stole home a couple of batters later evened the score at four. In extra innings, the Chaparrals used a two RBI double by Lane Johnson as part of a four run inning to come out on top.
“The fight we showed in the seventh inning was the same fight we had the entire game,” sophomore Eiken Farley said. “We never lost hope and always tried to build on the success we had as a team. Not giving up was a huge part of that because it was such an unfavorable situation, but we believed in our team and knew we could do whatever it takes to compete.”
Despite the tough loss to close the season, the team still had a record-breaking season, winning district for the first time in school history with a 13-3 record in district games. The game to clinch the division was a dramatic 2-1 win over Round Rock where juniors Braylon Jones and Dax Van Stavern recorded back-to-back RBI doubles.
“This team didn’t have the most talented or skilled players,” Tan said. “We weren’t expected to be great, both by others and even ourselves. Because of that, we all worked harder as a team and it lowered our personal ego to the point where we listened to our coach’s points to the last word. Many people stepped up into roles they had never touched before and made a noticeable impact on the outcome of the season.”
The hard work that the team put in went beyond showing up for practice in the afternoon, often having morning lifts where the group had to get to school around 6 a.m. That combined with the after-school practices culminated in long days that helped bring success this year.
“The early morning workouts and the late night practices built a better bond within the team,” junior Noah Mcdonough said. “I think that the team dinners we had also helped strengthen our chemistry and cohesion. Being around the guys just created an environment and a culture we haven’t had here until now.”
Next season looks like it could be another strong year for the program based on some returning team members next year. Key players from this year’s playoff team including junior Karston Coffey, Jones and Van Stavern will all be entering their senior years next year, providing the framework for another potential record-breaking year.
“While we’ve lost in the first round the past two years, we were also able to accomplish things that no other team in Vandegrift history had done before,” Farley said. “Knowing our team, we will continue to improve and strive for that next step, which is winning a playoff series.”
