HS Baseball: Grand Oaks Sustains Themselves In Grindy Game Over College Park

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The Grand Oaks Grizzlies (11-7) picked up a crucial 6-2 road win against the College Park Cavaliers (7-8-1) by riding timely hitting and solid defense.

Both teams got out to a slow start due to sound fielding shutting down early chances for runs.

College Park only let one Grizzly aboard via a walk in the first inning, while Grand Oaks had to clutch out a scoreless outing by flying out back-to-back Cavalier batters to strand two runners.

The scoreless first and second innings showed hints of what both teams were capable of, but the finishing touches on bringing in runners fell just shy.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Grand Oaks Head Coach Lou Ferrell discussed the team’s mindset during tough at-bats.

“Coach [Jeremy] Willis does a good job with our hitters, so we just kind of revert to what he works on them with in the cages,” said Ferrell. “We had some hard outs early in the game, so it just became about not panicking and staying where we can execute.”

Grand Oaks’ chance to execute arrived in the top of the third inning, when timely hitting from the bottom and top of the lineup brought in the first runners of the day.

A leadoff single from Luke Matthews was instrumental in sparking Grand Oaks’ hitting before a sound swing from Kameron Webb brought in the game’s opening run. With one run in and Webb aboard with two outs, the window was still open for damage to be done.

Callum Wilson connected on a shot to centerfield where a missed dive bought extra room for Webb to come in and Wilson to threaten a triple. Luckily for College Park, just enough zest on the ball caught Wilson at third for the last out, but a 2-0 Grizzly lead was still built.

College Park replied in the bottom of the third with a single from Evan Mann, which eventually led to a Cavalier run. However, Grand Oaks' slight edge was critical in keeping the momentum on their side.

“Our guys get excited when they see another guy succeeding,” explained Ferrell. “It’s fun to win, and it’s fun to do good things out there on the baseball field.”

A scoreless fourth threatened to return the teams to defensive play, but the Grizzlies had other ideas in the top of the fifth.

Another strong leadoff at-bat, this time from Collin Martin, got a runner on base early in the inning for Grand Oaks. Back-to-back outs jeopardized the untapped potential, but a series of unfortunate pitches from the Cavaliers prolonged the inning while bringing in Grizzly scores.

Braeden Sanches became the second Grizzly runner on the basepath, joining Martin on a two-out excursion. Then, three straight walks, including two hit batters, brought in two more free runs for the Grizzlies.

A grounder to second thankfully ended College Park’s skid in the fifth, but a freshly extended 4-1 Grand Oaks lead was threatening to be the difference maker in a mostly defensive game.

Back-to-back three-out innings sank the immediate hopes of the Cavs in the face of Grand Oaks’ lead. Lockdown play from the Grizzly fielders and a strong pitching performance from Mason Kinchen prevented College Park from establishing any traction as the at-bats flew by.

“This would be a game where I felt pretty good about how we played all around,” said Ferrell. “We threw it well, we played food defense, and we swung well.”

Two more insurance runs in the top of the sixth pushed Grand Oaks into a situation where the win seemed secure. Different pitchers for College tried to meep the momentum from snowballing, but wild pitches from unprepared arms and an RBI from Sanches stretched the lead to 6-1 in Grand Oaks’ favor with one and a half innings left to play.

College Park’s brightest spot since the third inning saw the team put on multiple runners, with pinch-hitter Ty Easley rounding the bags to come home for College Park’s second run.

Grady Scarborough added some more pressure by getting on via a walk and advancing on a wild pitch, but the Cavalier was left stranded at third, becoming the last College Park runner of the day.

Both teams played out the stretch in the seventh inning, with Grand Oaks being the only team to get a runner on in the closing frame.

College Park’s last-ditch attempt in the bottom of the inning was snuffed out in three straight outs, ending the night in a 6-2 win for the Grand Oaks Grizzlies.

“In this district, you can’t sleep well at night when you have someone coming down the shute,” said Ferrell. “We just have to do the things we work on in practice and take it into the game.”

These teams will meet again on Tuesday the 18th to complete the series at Grand Oaks High School.

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