HS Baseball: Highlanders Make it 10 Straight Wins Following Run-Rule Over College Park

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- The Woodlands Highlanders (20-4-1) rode strong batting and shut-out fielding to an 11-1 blowout over the visiting College Park Cavaliers (10-11-1) to secure the team’s tenth consecutive victory.

Misty and cloudy conditions tried to make the play miserable for the rivaling teams, but the Highlanders appeared mostly unaffected by the weather.

Early run support from The Woodlands arrived in the bottom of the first inning. With Jack Smejkal in scoring position and Caleb Holifield holding at first base, Gian Fernandez confidently entered the batter’s box.

One swing from Fernandaz’s bat drew solid contact that carried the ball over the left field fence for a three-run homer to start the scoring.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Highlander Head Coach Ron Eastman discussed the sudden up-tick in home run production through district play.

“The first half of the season, we didn’t hit any home runs. I think we won 13 ball games and didn’t hit one home run,” said Eastman. “We kept grinding in batting practice, started hitting the ball, now some of them are leaving the yard and that’s a good feeling.”

Adding to The Woodlands’ good feelings was a masterclass of defense and pitching being put on by Daigle and the rest of the Highlander fielders.

Save for one slip-up in the top of the second that resulted in the only error of the game for The Woodlands, the combination of Daigle’s pitching and fielding from the Highlander infield kept the Cavs from getting the ball out of the infield.

All of the first three innings for the College Park batters ended in outs, coming via strikeouts or infield grounders.

“We’ve been playing solid defense all year,” said a pleased Eastman. “We’re fielding right about where we should be for a really good team. The numbers we look at for pitching have been stellar.”

College Park’s inability to build momentum at the plate was compounded by a stretch of five consecutive innings that resulted in runs for the Highlanders to close the game.

Unrelenting hitting from every stretch of the Highlander lineup added to the steadily growing pile of runs. A home run from Westin LeRoy, a perfect performance from Smejkal, and RBIs from multiple Woodlands batters led to a final tally of 11 runs being put on by the end of the game.

“Anytime you can put multiple runs on the board in multiple innings, that gives your pitcher confidence and it gives your defense confidence,” explained Eastman. “We didn’t hit the ball great in the first half of the season, and now we’re starting to hit it well and it’s been contagious.”

With the Highlanders running away on the scoreboard, College Park could only muster a single run in response to put a slight bright spot on the damp and dreary game.

A walk drawn by Ty Easley in the top of the fifth constituted the first walk issued by Daigle since the second. Easley was pushed into scoring position due to a wild pitch before an RBI double from Chris Worley brought in the only score on the night for College Park.

The Woodlands responded to the conceded run by scoring five of their own, with the final coming off the bat of Frenandez in the bottom of the sixth to end the game in an 11-1 run-rule victory for the red-hot Highlanders.

“I was just really pleased with our energy and effort that we brought to the field,” said Eastman. “I don’t play into the rivalry thing, but it’s a big game as we hopefully head on our way to the playoffs and a possible district championship.

Weather conditions threaten to postpone the second game in the series on Saturday, but Eastman believes that his players will find their own ways to stay engaged.

“I’ve been doing this for a long time, and I can tell you that they’re pretty resilient,” said Eastman. “Right now, this group is focused, and it’s feeding off the energy of the starters and the dugout. “

The rematch and conclusion of the two-game series is set for Saturday at College Park, with the opening pitch taking place at 2:00. Should weather force a postponement, the rescheduled game will take place on Monday at 4:00.

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