Paradise baseball knocks out Wall in state semifinal
· Yahoo Sports
ABILENE – The No. 4 Paradise baseball team downed No. 3 Wall 11-8 in Game 3 of the Class 3A Division II state semifinal on Friday, thwarting a state title repeat chance for the Hawks.
The Panthers (37-5) forced Wall (34-8) into two must-win games at Hardin-Simmons University’s John J. Hunter Field on Friday after taking Game 1 5-0 at Clyde on Thursday. The Hawks won Game 2 with a convincing 9-4 decision, but ultimately ran out of gas late in Game 3 after taking a 7-4 lead earlier.
Visit newsbetting.bond for more information.
“It was a great series,” Wall baseball coach Jeremy Gordon said. “I saw a lot of resiliency out of us. It’s who we’ve been all year. The dude’s just competed. I told them before that third game that, ‘Win, lose, whatever – Good, bad, ugly, let’s make sure we walk off this field holding our heads up high, knowing that we competed our freaking butts off,’ and they did. I’m proud of them.”
Wall fell behind early in Game 2 but rallied to tie it up 3-3 in the fourth inning thanks to a triple from senior Hagyn Barbee. The Hawks added one run in the fifth, three in the sixth, and two in the seventh to close out the game.
Odessa College signee and senior pitcher Reid Ballard received the win, tossing six innings and only giving up five hits and one earned run. The Hawks finished with 11 hits and seven RBIs.
Game 3 was the highest-scoring affair of the series, with both teams getting double-digit hits. The teams traded blows through the first three innings until Odessa College signee and senior Kellan Oliver hit a two-run homer to give the Hawks a 7-4 lead.
However, like the Panthers had done all series, they chipped away at the Hawks until it was a one-score game going into the bottom of the sixth.
Paradise had its best offensive inning of the series in the bottom of the sixth, bringing in four runs, which was ultimately too much for the Hawks to overcome, leading to an 11-8 win for the Panthers and a trip to the state championship game.
Despite the loss, Gordon said he was proud of how his team responded. Particularly with the offensive performance from Community Christian College signee and senior Stephen Laney, who was inserted into the lineup after the Game 1 loss.
"Huge shout out to Stephen Laney," Gordon said. "The kid wanted to find his way into the lineup, and made it impossible for us to leave him out of it...his heart is the size of Texas. He's a true competitor, and I'm so proud of him."
Friday’s contests were Gordon and assistant coach Anthone Luna's last games coaching at Wall, with Gordon heading to Austin Westlake and Luna becoming the coach at Burkburnett.
“I grew up with (Gordon),” Oliver said. “When he became the coach my sophomore year, we became close, close friends. It felt like I was talking to another friend, but he was also my coach. We were that tight. Coach Luna has been there with me every step of the way as a pitching coach, hitting coach and first base coach – He’s always been there for me, always telling me what to do and when to do it.”
Despite falling short of their goal, Gordan said this group of Wall seniors will always remain special.
"They mean everything to me," Gordon said. "I came in when they were sophomores, and they had already played a lot of baseball. They were given a head coach with zero experience, and despite that, they just bought in. They trusted me, we built relationships, and they've done everything I've asked them to do, even if they aren't happy with it. I will forever love those guys, and they will forever have a spot in my heart."
Paul Witwer covers high school sports and Angelo State University sports for The San Angelo Standard-Times. Reach him at [email protected]. Follow him on X @Paul_Witwer, Instagram and TikTok at pwitwer_sast.
This article originally appeared on San Angelo Standard-Times: Paradise baseball advances to state championship