Eagle Pass Eagles Fall to San Antonio Reagan Rattlers 8-7 in Thrilling Regional Semifinals Championship
By: Ricardo E. Calderon, Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc., Copyright 2022
The high flying Eagle Pass High School Eagles fell to San Antonio Reagan High School Rattlers 8-7 in a thrilling U.I.L. Region IV-6A Semifinals Championship one game playoff on Thursday, May 26, 2022 at the Laredo Independent School District Veterans Field in Laredo, Texas, bringing to an end an outstanding 2022 season with an overall record of 23-14.
The Eagles opened the game with two runs in the top of the first inning as lead off hitter Aiden Lopez doubled to left field followed by designated hitter Jared Romero slapped a single to left field to advance Lopez to third base, first baseman Derek Ruiz grounded out on a fielder’s choice but not before Lopez tallied the first run of the game and Romero advanced to second and later to third base with one out, catcher Joaquin Olivas grounded out on a fielder’s choice but Romero scored the second Eagles run with two outs, center fielder Isaac Stanwick ripped a single to get on base, and second baseman Mathew Elizondo flied out to center field to end the top half of the inning.
Eagles starting pitcher Alex Paniagua kept the Rattlers from scoring in the bottom of the first inning despite giving up two base on balls with two outs before Rattlers catcher Andrew Ermis grounded out for the third out but was ejected from the game for running into Eagles first baseman Derek Ruiz on the play, bringing out the Rattlers head coach to protest the umpire call to no avail.
In the second inning, both starting pitchers buckled down to prevent any runs from being scored with the Eagles leading 2-0.
In the third inning, the Eagles went three up and three down. However, the Rattlers plated four runs in the bottom of the third inning to take a 4-2 lead over the Eagles, taking advantage of Eagles pitching ball control problems. Rattler shortstop Teagan Peoples led off with a base on balls from Alex Paniagua, followed with another base on balls to second baseman Cole Tabor advancing Peoples to third base after stealing second base, causing Eagles head coach Reynol Mendoza to bring in relief pitcher Donovan Becerra for Paniagua with no outs, first baseman Brennan Greer grounded but an Eagles throwing error to first base allowed Peoples to score the Rattlers first run of the game, catcher Caden Roy grounded but another Eagles throwing error allowed Tabor to score the second run, right fielder Luke Sasser got on base on a fielder’s choice but Roy scored the third run, and another Eagles error allowed Sasser to score the fourth run before the third out fell.
In the top of the fourth inning, Eagles center fielder Isaac Stanwick led off with a single to left field and stole second base, Mathew Elizondo popped-out on a bunt attempt for the first out, shortstop Robert De La Garza hit an infield base hit advancing Stanwick to third base with one out, but the next two Eagles hitters struck out to retire the side, leaving fleet footed Stanwick on third base.
Eagles pitcher Donovan Becerra blanked the Rattlers in the bottom of the fourth inning to maintain the score 4-2 in favor of the Rattlers.
The Eagles exploded for five runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 7-4 lead as lead off hitter Aiden Lopez singled, Jared Romero singled advancing Lopez to third base, Derek Ruiz slammed an RBI single to score Lopez, Joaquin Olivas received a base on balls to load up the bases, Isaac Stanwick received a base on balls scoring Romero, forcing the Rattlers to change pitchers with Billy Baehr relieving starter Aidan Coleman, Mathew Elizondo flied out to right field to score Romero, next Eagles batter struck out, pinch hitter Tavare Chavez singled to right field scoring Ruiz, Ramon Salinas ripped a single to score Olivas and Stanwick but was caught at second base for the third out, giving the Eagles the 7-4 lead.
The Rattlers tallied four runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to regain the lead 8-7 over the Eagles as the first batter grounded out for the first out, Brennan Greer singled, Caden Roy flied out, Luke Sasser doubled to the right center field scoring Greer, Aidan Coleman received a base on balls, forcing an Eagles pitching change as Jared Romero came in relief of Donovan Becerra, Jacob King singled scoring Sasser, Ashton Bearid bunted for an infield hit scoring Coleman, Britton Moore singled scoring King for the fourth run before the third out fell.
Both teams failed to score in the sixth inning, bringing the game down to the last inning.
In the top of the seventh inning, Joaquin Olivas flied out with the first out, standout Isaac Stanwick battled relief pitcher Billy Baehr for a base on balls and stole second and third bases with one out-90 feet away with the tying run, but the next Eagles batter struck out for the second out, and the next batter flied out to center field to end the game, stranding the swift Stanwick on third base with the potential tying run.
The Eagles 2022 season came to an abrupt end with the loss to the Rattlers despite having opportunities to tie or regain the lead in the game. In the end, Eagles fielding and throwing errors and lack of ball control at critical junctures in the game allowed the Rattlers to snatch the victory over the Eagles.
The Eagles represented their school and the community with exemplary sportsmanship and continued the rich tradition of Eagles Baseball Program being considered among the elite programs in the state of Texas.
The Eagle Pass Business Journal congratulates the Eagles on their outstanding 2022 season including a second place finish in District 30-6A, Bi-District Championship, Area Championship, Regional Quarterfinals Championship, and Regional Semifinals Finalist.
Go Eagles Baby!
