Chargers clinch playoff spot, still have eyes on district title

Tuesday’s takedown of Kerrville Tivy clinched a playoff spot for the Boerne Champion baseball team and the Chargers still had a chance at the district title heading into this weekend.

Champion thumped Tivy 11-1 on Tuesday and pulled into first place in the 26-5A standings at 11-4. The Chargers (22-7 overall) hosted the Antlers Friday.

Even if Champion wins Friday, New Braunfels (104) still has two games left and could tie the Chargers at 12-4 if the Unicorns win their final two.

Pieper has 10 wins (10-5) and plays New Braunfels on Saturday, so that game could affect the final district standings as well, especially if the Chargers lost Friday.

Regardless of what happens this weekend though, the Chargers have clinched in a very tough district.

Tuesday’s win over the Antlers wasn’t a run-rule victory even though the Chargers took the game by 10 runs.

It was 10-1 going into the final frame before the Chargers scored one more time to make it 11-1, but since Kerrville was the home team, they still had to bat.

From the second through fifth frames, Champion tallied at least 2 runs in each inning.

The Chargers were up 5-0 before the Antlers scratched for their only run in the bottom of the third. Champion responded with 3 runs in the fourth and 2 in the fifth to make it 10-1.

Another run in the fifth or sixth would have ended it since Tivy didn’t score after the third inning, but it did go the full seven frames.

Champion finished with 7 hits – all singles, took 8 walks and stole 7 bases in the game.

Aidan Smith and Sam Miller both knocked out 2 singles each, while Owen Kuhl, Andrew Harrison and Sawyer Smith hit one single apiece.

Austin Garritano walked 3 times and scored twice, while Garland White also scored 2 runs. Harrison, Kuhl, Mark Thompson, Cal Isley, Aidan Smith, Miller and Brody Bendele all plated single runs.

Kuhl, Isley, Patrick Hall, Sawyer Smith, Garritano and Miller all drove in one run each, while Aidan Smith picked up 2 RBI.

AJ Grizzaffi picked up the win in four innings of work and scattered 3 hits, gave up 3 walks and the run the Antlers scored was unearned. He also struck out 3 batters.

Pearce Kelly tossed the final three frames and yielded one hit, one walk, no runs and fanned a batter.