It took a lot of juggling of the schedule, but the Champion baseball team was finally able to play two games against Cedar Park.
After Thursday’s opener was delayed twice because of the weather, the Chargers finished it out with a 14-4 win for the 1-0 series lead.
Friday’s start time for Game 2 was moved up a few hours, but the game was eventually called before the first pitch and moved to Saturday.
The skies cleared for Saturday’s Game 2 and the Chargers took care of business, closing out the series over the Timberwolves.
Cedar Park would have hosted a third game if needed, but it didn’t get that far after Champion won the second game, 18-5, in a contest that went all seven innings.
Champion (25-7) faces MacArthur in the second round in a best-of-three series, with all games at the SAISD Complex.
Game 1 is Thursday at 4:30 p.m., and the second game is Friday at 4:30 p.m. A third game, if needed, will take place Saturday, 1 p.m.
Game 2 Champion 18, Cedar Park 5
Even though the Chargers took Game 2 by 13 runs, it didn’t go into the books as a run-rule victory, but it was still a lopsided win.
Champion was up 13-2 going into the bottom of the fifth but the Wolves avoided a run-rule loss after they scored 3 runs in the bottom of the fifth to make it 13-5 and extend the game for at least an inning.
After neither team scored in the sixth, the Chargers added 5 runs in the top of the seventh, but since the Wolves were the home team, they still had to bat in the bottom half of the inning, however they didn’t score.
Champion knocked out 15 hits in the game and scored a run in the first, 6 in the second and 3 in the third for the 10-0 lead.
Cedar Park responded with 2 in the bottom of the third to make it 10-2 and then Champion went up 13-2 with 3 runs in the top of the fifth, but again, the Wolves answered with 3 in the bottom half of the inning to basically take it to the seventh.
Of their 15 hits, eight went for extra bases after Sawyer Smith smacked a home run, while Jaedyn Yamaguchi and Owen Kuhl knocked out 2 doubles each. Aidan Smith, Ethan Jensen and Sam Miller also hit 1 double apiece.
Kuhl also hit a single, scored 3 runs and picked up 4 RBI, Yamaguchi added a single to his 2 doubles, took 2 walks, drove in 3 runs and scored once.
Sawyer Smith and Aidan Smith both pushed in a run and scored once, Jensen drove in 2 runs and Miller added a single to his double and collected an RBI.
Preston Dennis had an RBI, Cal Isley walked twice and scored twice, Garland Whitehead hit 2 singles and pushed in 3 runs, Caiden Cruz plated a run, Mark Thompson scored 2 runs, Austin Garritano singled, walked and scored twice, Andrew Harrison singled, walked, picked up an RBI and scored 3 runs, while Matthew Velez walked, had an RBI and scored once.
AJ Grizzaffi picked up the win from the mound and threw 3 innings. He scattered 2 hits, didn’t give up an earned run, walked 3 and struck out 5.
Jackson Melanson tossed 2 innings and gave up 4 hits, gave up 3 runs, 2 walks and fanned 3, while Pearce Kelly also pitched 2 innings and didn’t give up a hit, walk run and sat down a batter.
Game 1 Champion 14, Cedar Park 4 Two weather delays forced the teams off the field for at least 30 minutes each time in Thursday’s first-round playoff opener in Boerne and the game took almost four hours to complete but the Chargers closed out the first game with a 14-4 win in five innings.
The Chargers were up 2-0 when the game went into the first weather delay in the top of the third inning. Champion starting pitcher Sawyer Smith, who had a perfect going until the delay, singled and later scored on an Andrew Harrison single. Owen Kuhl then tripled to bring in Harrison.
After the delay, the first Wolves batter hit a high pop up that dropped in the infield after two Charger players called for it, but neither caught it.
That started a string of three more singles and then a triple to help the Timberwolves push in 4 runs and take the 4-2 lead.
Cedar Park accounted for all 4 of its runs in that inning but the lead didn’t hold for long after the Chargers answered with 2 runs in the bottom of the third to tie it.
Jaedyn Yamaguchi walked, Garland Whitehead reached on a throwing error and then Aidan Smith singled down the rightfield line to bring in Yamaguchi.
Sawyer Smith helped his cause with a sac bunt to bring in Whitehead and it was knotted at 4-4.
From there, the Chargers busted it open in the bottom of the fourth after they sent 12 batters to the plate and scored 8 runs.
Kuhl legged out his second triple of the game and Cal Isley also banged out a 2-RBI triple in the inning.
Champion chased two Timberwolves pitchers from the game in that inning, starter Kyle McClure and his replacement, Damian Alonzo.
Grant Rogers entered with one out and threw the rest of the way and when the inning was over, Champion held a 12-4 lead.
It went to the fifth inning and Sawyer Smith retired the first two batters he faced with a strikeout and a ground out. Smith walked the next batter and was replaced by Parker Davis at that point, but the game went into its second weather delay.
Once it resumed about 45 minutes later, Cedar Park’s runner at first was thrown out on the base paths to end the inning, setting the stage for the Chargers to end it in the bottom of the fifth.
Whitehead tripled to start the fifth frame for their fourth triple of the game. Aidan Smith came up and hit a sacrifice fly to right field to bring in Whitehead and make it 13-4.
Parker Davis singled and his courtesy runner, Mark Thompson, moved to second after Sam Miller was walked. Andrew Harrison was hit by a pitch and the bases were loaded with two outs.
Kuhl was up to bat but before he could bring in the winning run, Rogers threw a wild pitch, allowing Thompson to score from third to end it.
Champion finished with 13 hits, including 4 triples and a double.
Sawyer Smith tossed 4.2 innings and struck out 3 batters, walked 2 and gave up 4 hits.
Davis recorded an out and gave up one hit and no walks.
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