San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Rattlers advance with grit, determination
ROUND ROCK — Earlier this week, Reagan center fielder Britton Moore said his teammates played with a lot of grit on their way to the UIL state baseball tournament.
The Rattlers certainly showed that Friday night as they toppled defending state champion Rockwall-Heath 6-0 in a Class 6A state semifinal at Dell Diamond.
Foremost among the Rattlers’ gritty players was pitcher Aidan Coleman, who allowed five hits and struck out five in a complete-game win to improve to 9-1.
“He was incredible,” Reagan coach Chans Chapman said. “He was in complete control of the game the whole time. He had that one inning, we load up the bases, but you know, he never wavered. And when’s he like that, he’s tough to beat. We needed that kind of performance, and he gave it to us.”
The Rattlers (33-6-2) will play Southlake Carroll (33-8) for the state title at 4 p.m. Saturday at Dell Diamond. The game is a rematch of the 2018 state championship in which Carroll prevailed 7-2.
Reagan advanced Saturday’s final with a splendid display of strong pitching, timely hitting and superb defense.
And grit.
“People doubt on us a lot,” right fielder Luke Sasser said. “We love to fight. We’re usually the underdog, and we just fight all the time.”
Sasser got the Rattlers on the scoreboard in the first inning with a single that plated second baseman Cole Tabor.
Reagan added two in the third when third baseman Ashton Beaird and Moore drew walks and advanced two bases after back-to-back balks by Jonny Lowe. Beaird scored on one balk, and Moore scored on a single by shortstop Teagan Peeples.
Rockwall-Heath (35-7) put together a scoring threat in the bottom of the third. Shortstop Jett Williams, a Mississippi
State signee and projected firstround draft pick, was hit by a pitch. Center fielder Alex Stowers then walked, and first baseman Caleb Hoover was hit by a
pitch to load them up.
Beaird got the Rattlers out of the jam by ranging from third to the shortstop hole and throwing out Lowe on a grounder.
“Just to finish the inning like that, it was a great play,” Coleman said. “It helped switch the momentum back to our side.”
Coleman benefited from another spectacular defensive play when Sasser dove and caught Collin Lilies’ blooper in right field in the fourth inning.
“I usually just do my prepitch and get ready because I know Aidan is throwing strikes all the time,” Sasser said. “I knew he was going to hit the ball. I was looking up, I saw the ball and I ran at it.”
Coleman helped himself in the fifth by striking out Hoover to end the frame as the Hawks left runners stranded on first and second.
Williams, the Hawks’ speedy leadoff hitter, was 2 for 3 and reached base three times. However, there were two outs each time he was on base and that limited the damage he could do.
“He’s obviously a phenomenal ballplayer, so it definitely helped because I was able to focus on the batter because he got on with two outs a lot,” Coleman said. “And it helped me get out of some jams.”
The Rattlers added three insurance runs in the seventh with Tabor’s RBI double, first baseman Brennan Greer’s sacrifice fly to center and Coleman’s walk with bases loaded.
Reagan improved to 4-0 in state semifinal games. They are seeking their first state title.
The Rattlers are also chasing city history. The last time an area team won a state championship in UIL’s highest classification was Highlands in 1968.
“My kids have done this all year long,” Chapman said. “They’ve done it all year regardless of the situation. They have done what it takes to win baseball games. They got one goal in mind, and that’s to win tomorrow at 4 o’clock.”