Grapevine hands rival Colleyville Heritage baseball rout

By Travis L. Brown

Special to the Star-Telegram

GRAPEVINE — No one expected a battle of two area baseball powerhouses, Grapevine and Colleyville Heritage, to end as lopsided as Friday’s affair finished.

Grapevine ace Zach Kornely hurled a complete-game, two-hit gem to finish off an unexpected 10-1 Grapevine victory.

“You certainly don’t expect a game like this or an outcome like that, but Zach has been throwing really well for us, and he pitched another great game tonight,” Grapevine head coach Tim McCune said.

Kornely threw 111 pitches, 68 for strikes, and allowed Heritage’s only run on a passed ball in the top of the fourth inning.

Kornely also had the comfort of a 7-0 Grapevine lead after two innings, allowing the senior to rely on spotting fastballs to strong-hitting Heritage (9-9, 1-1 District 6-5A).

“I knew they had some big hitters I needed to stay away from, so I just wanted to try and face them with nobody on and come after the guys deep in the lineup,” Kornely said.

The pitch count stretched Kornely far beyond his maximum this season, but he said it was to be expected as Grapevine entered district play.

While Kornely depended heavily on his fastball on the way to nine strikeouts, the signature pitch came with a full count to Heritage first baseman Preston Palmeiro. He fanned the son of former Texas Ranger Rafael Palmeiro with a big, hooking curveball to cap a 1-2-3 inning.

Grapevine (11-6-1, 2-0) added two more runs in the bottom of the fourth and put up its final run in the bottom of the sixth.

Grapevine catcher Jacob Leal gave his pitcher a good performance at the plate, knocking in two RBIs on three singles. The next hitter in the lineup, shortstop David Fry, also picked up two RBIs on one hit in the fourth.

Five Grapevine hitters safely reached base more than once on hits.

The offense caused Heritage to burn through three pitchers in the game with starter Jake Thompson picking up the loss, allowing seven runs, five earned, on six hits.

The near run-rule finish was a surprise to both teams, but anything goes really in rivalry games.

“Extra adrenaline always helps in a big rivalry game like that,” Kornely said.

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