Eagle Pass Eagles Snatch Regional Quarterfinals Championship from San Antonio O’Connor Panthers in the Bottom of 7th Inning of Game 3 by Score of 5-4, Face San Antonio Reagan Rattlers in Regional Semifinals
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
The mighty Eagle Pass High School Eagles snatched the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Region IV-6A Quarterfinal Regional Championship from the San Antonio O’Connor High School Panthers 5-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning with one out and bases loaded on a walk-off RBI single by standout Eagle Center Fielder Isaac Stanwick on Saturday, May 21, 2022 at the Jourdanton Independent School District Baseball Stadium in Jourdanton, Texas, advancing to the fourth round of the state baseball playoffs known as the Regional Semifinals Championship against the San Antonio Reagan Rattlers next week.
With the Eagles winning Game 1 by a score of 5-4 at home and the Panthers returning the favor in Game 2 by a score of 5-2, Game 3 lived up to all the excitement and hype of a decisive winner take all game.
In the top of the first inning, Eagles starting pitcher Omar Rodriguez held the potent Panthers hitters off the scoreboard, allowing one single only.
The Eagles scored the first run of the game in the bottom of the first inning as lead off hitter Aidan Lopez belted a single to left field followed by another single stroked by Jared Romero advancing Lopez to second base, Lopez advanced to third base on a passed ball followed by a long fly ball to center field by Derek Ruiz to score Lopez, and Joaquin Olivas hit into a double-play to retire the inning, giving the Eagles an early 1-0 lead.
In the top of the second inning, the Panthers threatened with two base hits with one out, but the Eagles defense executed a double play to end the scoring threat.
The Eagles explosive bats were silenced by Panthers starting pitcher Miguel Bustamante in the bottom of the second inning, allowing only one base on balls before retiring the side.
In the top of the third inning, the Panthers tallied one run to tie the game 1-1 with one out as Giancarlo Maldonado legged out an infield hit and advanced to second base on a throwing error, followed by another single to right field by Alex Perez advancing Maldonado to third base, designated hitter Dillon Lopez slapped an RBI single to left field to score Maldonado, Cross Valdez hit a fielder’s choice groundball throwing out Lopez at second base, and pitcher Miguel Bustamante flied out to center field for the third out.
The Eagles responded with two runs in the bottom of the third inning to regain the lead 3-1 with one out as lead off hitter Aidan Lopez slapped a single to center field, Jared Romero belted a double left-center field advancing Lopez to third base, first baseman Derek Ruiz received an intentional walk by Panthers head coach out of respect for his batting prowess to load the bases, catcher Joaquin Olivas ripped an RBI single to right field to score Lopez, pinch hitter Izhar Mauricio hit into fielder’s choice groundball scoring Romero before the third out fell.
The Panthers answered back with three runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 4-3 lead as center field Anthony Copabianco got a free pass on base with a hit by the pitch, Aaron Olivas slapped a double to advance Copabianco to third base, next batter Quinten Estrada flied out to first base for the first out, Javier Rosales stroked an RBI single to left field to score Copabianco, Giancarlo Maldonado ripped an RBI single to left field to score Olivas, and Eagles Head Coach Reynol Mendoza summoned relief pitcher Jared Romero to the mound for Omar Rodriguez, Alex Perez received a base on balls from Romero, Dillon Lopez belted an RBI single to right field, and Cross Valdez hit into a fielder’s choice for the third out.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, the Eagles failed to score despite an infield hit legged out by third baseman Luis Kancheff with one out, but the Panthers challenged the first base umpire’s call and after a meeting of the four man umpire crew had the call reversed for the second out, and the next Eagles batter struck out to end the controversial inning.
Both teams failed to score in the fifth inning as both pitchers, Jared Romero for the Eagles and Miguel Bustamante for the Panthers dominated the hitters.
In the sixth inning, Eagles relief pitcher Jared Romero struck two batters and the third popped up to first base to retire the Panthers.
With only six outs remaining in the game for the Eagles, center fielder Isaac Stanwick battled with Panther pitcher Miguel Bustamante to a full count after several foul balls to draw a base on balls, Stanwick advanced to second base on a passed ball, Mathew Elizondo sacrifice bunt was caught in the air for the first out, Stanwick then stole third base causing an errant throw by the Panthers catcher over the third baseman’s head to score the critical tying run for the Eagles before the third out fell.
In their last at bat in the top of the seventh, the Panthers threatened with Dillon Lopez leading off with his fourth single of the game (4-4) and a pinch runner, Javier Rodriguez, came in to run for him, Cross Valdez laid down a sacrifice bunt to advance Rodriguez to second base for the first out, Eagles shortstop Robert De La Garza sneaked behind Rodriguez and Eagles pitcher Jared Romero threw him out at second base for the second out, Panther pitcher Miguel Bustamante slapped a single to center field to keep the Panthers alive and another pinch runner was brought in for Bustamante, and Eagles catcher Joaquin Olivas threw out the pinch runner at second base for the third out.
With the game tied 4-4 in the bottom of the seventh inning, Eagles lead off hitter Aidan Lopez drew a base on balls, pitcher Jared Romero belted a single to left field to advance Lopez to third base, Derek Ruiz flied out to right field for the first out, Joaquin Olivas received an intentional walk from the Panthers to load up the bases, seeking to turn a double play, and center fielder Isaac Stanwick confidently stepped up to the plate with bases loaded and swung on the first pitch offered by Panthers pitcher Miguel Bustamante, ripping it into right field over the head and outstretched glove of Panther right fielder Cross Valdez for the game winning RBI to clinch the Regional Quarterfinals Championship.
The Eagles jumped in jubilation and swarmed Stanwick to congratulate him on his game winning performance. The Eagles victory was a total team effort, but definitely Stanwick scored the tying run in the fifth inning and batted the timely hit needed by the Eagles to win the game and championship.
The Eagles face the San Antonio Reagan Rattlers in the UIL Region IV-6A Regional Semifinals Championship next week at dates, times, and sites to be announced in the immediate future. The Reagan Rattlers swept the Smithson Valley Rangers and now own an overall season record of 29-5-1, while the Eagles improve to 23-13 overall in the season. This Eagles versus Rattlers series is one that all Eagle Pass baseball aficionados won’t want to miss.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal congratulates the Eagle Pass Eagles on winning the Regional Quarterfinals Championship and wishes them all the best in the Regionals Semifinals against the San Antonio Reagan Rattlers.
Go Eagles Baby!
