After state championship heartbreak, Brock baseball is on a quest for redemption
The 2025 season marks a turning point for the Brock baseball program—one filled with change, challenge, and a quest for redemption.
It’s been nearly a year since Brock’s loss in the 2024 Class 3A state championship game. After a stellar season, it was a missed opportunity to secure the program’s second state title and first since 2008.
Brock head coach Koby Page said the loss gave his returners some experience and another goal to push toward.
“These guys have been there, and they’ve played a lot of baseball games,” Page said. “We got to make sure that in order to get back there, we gotta freaking work.”
After experiencing the sting of championship defeat, the Eagles’ were thrown into a new environment. During the UIL realignment, the Eagles’ increase in enrollment led to them moving up to Class 4A — that comes with new opponents, high-quality competition and new district rivals.
“We’ve been playing playoff games since we entered district,” Page said. “Our district was so competitive this year, and we had to make sure that we were playing our best every single game. If we didn’t, we would get beat. It’s a testament to our district and our coaches and players.”
In the area round, No. 5 Brock faced No. 7 Fort Worth Benbrook, the District 8-4A champion. It was a high-stakes matchup between state-ranked teams, especially in the early stages of the postseason. With split-division playoffs, contenders are more likely to face off in the early rounds.
After a 13-3 Brock victory in game one, the Bobcats responded, and game two was ultra-competitive; the Eagles scored a late go-ahead run due to a balk, and Brock took the series with a 3-2 victory.
“Coach (Justin) Chavez does an amazing job over there, and they’re not going to hand you anything,” Page said. “And we came out without our foot on the pedal like we should have. And I think it took a little bit for us to get going. We respect the heck outta them.
“It’s unfortunate that the game like this has to happen in the second round. But I’m proud of our guys. We came and fought.”
In the UIL regional semifinals, Brock (26-3) will face Clint (19-11-1) in game at 5 p.m. on Thursday, May 15, and game two is slated for 11 a.m. Friday, May 16. If necessary, game three will start after game two. All contests will be at Christensen Stadium in Midland.
Brock’s Evan O’Connor led the team, throwing a complete game and also driving in the game-tying run. He had a slow start, allowing two earned runs, but by the end of the game, he was shutting down Benbrook’s offense.
“Whenever it mattered, he bared down and did what he had to do,” Page said. “Evan is nails. He’s been nails all year long. And if we’re going to get (to the state championship), it’s going to be on his and Jesse (Rusinek’s) back; there’s no doubt about it.”
Rusinek was another force in the series. He was the winning pitcher in game one, and he also produced offensively with three hits including one home run and three RBIs. Rusinek, a Texas Tech commit, is a nominee for the Star-Telegram’s area-round baseball most valuable player award.
“He is just a stud,” Page said. “He has been on fire right now, and he’s seeing the ball really well. he’s a really good player, he’s a really good competitor, great kid. Our lineup puts a lot of stress on pitchers. Whenever we have the right approach, we really can put a lot of stressful innings together. And that’s a testament to those guys just going in and putting in the work.”
Brock has the talent to make a deep run. Of course, the road in Class 4A Division II is far from easy. To keep his team on track, Page reminds them to fight for their goals.
“We’ve been talking about fighters,” Page said. “Being fighters and going out and fighting and making sure that every pitch, every at-bat, every game that we’re fighting — we’re fighting for each other. We’re fighting pitch to pitch.
“Sometimes, they’re going to get their licks in. And sometimes you have to wear them. You just have to be prepared to counter.”
As the playoffs continue, O’Connor will be focused on redemption and said the team wants to keep winning to get back to the Texas high school baseball state championships.
“It hurt us,” O’Connor said of last year’s loss. “So, we’re coming back for that, and we have a really good chance.”
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