Grapevine storms back, walks off Leander Rouse to advance to 5A state baseball championship
It seemed Grapevine ended its season with a careless defensive blunder, but it was Leander Rouse who ended up tossing away its season.
A throwing error from Leander Rouse allowed the Mustangs to secure a walk off victory in the Class 5A state semifinals at Dell Diamond on Thursday. They’ll play Lucas Lovejoy (29-7-2) in the Class 5A state championship at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
Grapevine head coach Jimmy Webster said both teams made uncharacteristic defensive plays in one of the strangest innings of baseball he has ever seen between top teams. After the game, he told Leander Rouse players he was sorry due to the atypical error.
“Sometimes, that’s just how the crazy game goes,” said Webster.
Both teams were held off the scoreboard until the seventh inning, when Leander Rouse’s Tyler Espinosa hit a ground ball to Grapevine third baseman Ryan Williams. The throw to first was off target and first baseman Jarett Boswell made another throwing error trying to catch Espinosa taking second.
The ball got by the backup man and rolled to deep left field for a Little League home run.
It seemed as if the Raiders (34-10-1) finally got an edge in a pitchers duel due to a sloppy Grapevine mistake. Leander Rouse, however, was also in store for a consequential defensive blunder.
“We talked about if there is an out or a strike left, you’ve just got to fight,” Webster said. “You just compete and the game will take care of itself. If you fight your tail off, you can live with the results even if it doesn’t go your way. We’re not going to back down.”
Webster said he didn’t have time to feel sorry for himself or his team. But he did think about having to “chew on” that play for eight months.
“Everyone knew where to go,” Webster said. “It just didn’t work out.”
The Mustangs, however, responded in the bottom of the seventh and loaded the bases. Sophomore catcher and Texas A&M commit Gianni Corral was hit by a pitch and junior left fielder Brady Boozer drew a walk.
Sophomore Zackary Goldstein found a way to get on base with a bunt, and the Raiders did not cover first. Boozer bolted to third but Corral did not advance to home. The blunder was inconsequential with Leander Rouse not making a throw.
Senior shortstop Brenton Lee then stepped up to the plate with an opportunity to tie or take the lead.
He hit a ground ball to short, and the Raiders got an out at second. Leander Rouse second baseman Rayner Heinrich tried to turn a double play to end the ballgame but the ball got loose, allowing the Mustangs to score two and win.
Prior to the hectic final frame, Grapevine’s Dasan Hill and Leander Rouse’s Gavin Silva went back and forth to keep the game scoreless.
Hill, a 6-foot-4 Dallas Baptist commit, and he delivered a quality start, allowing zero earned runs in six innings pitched. Leander Rouse tallied two hits and struck out 10 times against Hill, who allowed three walks.
One of Hill’s many highlights came in the third inning, when Leander Rouse had runners on the corners with one out due to a throwing error from Grapevine third baseman Ryan Williams. Hill kept the Raiders at bay with consecutive strikeouts.
Hill faced the same situation the following inning due to a walk, stolen base and a wild pitch. But, once again, Hill tallied two strikeouts to escape unscathed.
“Those are my favorite situations to be in,” Hill said. “I live for things like that. It flicks on another level for me. I love it. It makes me feel confident.”
To cap off an phenomenal performance with the season on the line, Hill struck out consecutive batters with the bases loaded in the sixth inning. He allowed two hits, three walks and struck out 10 batters without allowing a run.
“In those jams, he had some of his best pitches,” Webster said. “Sliders with bite and fastballs that he spotted. I’m really, really proud of his guts.”
Silva tossed six 1/3 innings for the Raiders, allowing one hit and six strikeouts. Although he was not on the mound when Grapevine (39-5) scored its runs, he put on the tying run and was charged with one earned run.
Webster said Silva “competed his tail off” and credited him for having a great fastball and slider combination while keeping his velocity high.
“We just could never get to him,” Webster said. “And finally his pitch count got high and we scratched some base runners.”
Grapevine won its sole state championship in 2016 and, in 2017, followed it up with a state tournament appearance. The Mustangs will look for their second state title on Saturday.
“It’s awesome,” Hill said of the win. “This is such a good group of guys to be with. The energy throughout the game -- that was one of the most fun games of my life. And hopefully we can carry that over to Saturday.”
This story was originally published June 6, 2024 at 10:28 PM.
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