BUDA — After a Game 1 loss to Rouse, Champion needed a win last Friday to keep their season alive and extend the series to Saturday.
The Chargers came through with a 6-4 victory Friday at Buda Johnson and it was Jaedyn Yamaguchi, who had the hit of the game after he broke a 4-4 tie with a 2-RBI single in the bottom of the fifth to score Lyndon Austin and Cal Isley for the two-run lead that held.
The Chargers 6-4 win forced a Game 3 Saturday in Seguin that was won by Rouse to advance to the next round.
Yamaguchi, Champion’s senior catcher, said he got the pitch he wanted and smacked it.
“It was a fastball right over the plate and I drove it somewhere in the gap and it helped get the win for us,” he said.
Yamaguchi had slipped to the No. 9 in the batting order but caught fire and was hitting in the clean-up or the No. 4 spot by the third round of the playoffs.
“I had some struggles early, but I just kept fighting and kept doing my thing,” he said. “I just keep playing, I put in the work and my hitting came back.”
Owen Kuhl started on the hill and earned the win. Usually, Cal Isley is the closer, but Chargers head coach Ben Woodchick brought in Parker Davis in the fifth and left him in to finish it out because Davis was doing so well and it also let Isley rest his arm. The strategy worked and Davis picked up the save.
“He had good stuff, so we’re not going to take a guy out of the lineup that’s productive,” Woodchick said. “He’s a short-end stopper, but it was a different role for him tonight. He’s been out there quite a bit in big situations in the playoffs.”
Davis said he’s ready to go whenever they need him.
“I kind of train that way and I’m always ready for the big moment,” he said. “When my name is called I kind of get in a zone.”
While he wants the pitcher on the mound to do well, Davis said if that’s not happening, he wants to get in the game to help the team.
“I always want my teammates to do good, always, but if the moment comes then I’ll get to work,” he said.
Davis induced a double play to end the game.
“I was ecstatic, it was awesome,” he said.
Last week’s schedule was different. The Chargers played against the Raiders on Wednesday and lost. Champion graduated on Thursday and then went back to work on Friday and Saturday.
“They wanted to play the next day after the loss, but we had that gap because of graduation,” Woodchick said. “When you’re going through so many emotions, it might have helped us to put life in perspective. Baseball’s important but maybe it was good to get our mind off the game a little bit.”
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