Titans battle to the end, but fall short at State

The Tea Area Titans baseball team entered the Class A State Baseball Tournament in their inaugural year as a class A team. They came into the tournament as the #6 seed and were matched up with #3 Brandon Valley, Friday night at the Birdcage. A match-up that was a tough one, got even tougher when the Lynx ran out one of the state’s best pitchers, Aiden Zerr to pitch the first round game.

The Lynx drew first blood in the second inning, when a base runner from third base, stole home.  

The lead was short-lived, when Ethan Vis connected on a two-run double off of Zerr, scoring Mason Schramm and Cole McKinney, giving the Titans a 2-1 lead heading to the bottom of the third.

In the bottom of the frame, they Lynx recaptured the lead on an RBI single and a second run scoring on a fielding error.

The Lynx 3-2 held through the next three innings with Zerr and Titan’s pitcher, Clayton Schwebach, matched in a pitching duel.

The teams headed into the top of the seventh inning, Tea Area still needing at least one run to keep their State Champion hopes alive.

With one out, Schramm grounded to the third baseman, who made an errand throw to first, putting the tying run aboard for the Titans.

Ethan Vis then brought the crowd to their feet with a missile to straight away center field, bringing home Schramm to tie the game with a stand-up triple, his third extra base hit of the game. The Titans had to settle with just one run, tying the game at three, going to the bottom of the seventh inning, in the seven inning game.

The Lynx reached second base on a high pop fly lost in the twilight night sky, the runner eventually scored on a walk-off ground ball single two batters later, giving the Lynx the victory, and ending the Titans fantastic season. 

Schwebach was fantastic on the mound for Tea Area, pitching five innings, giving up only three runs (two earned) on three hits, while striking out five Brandon Valley hitters.

At the plate, the Titans were lead by Vis (two doubles, triple, three RBI’s), Mason Schramm (two hits, two runs scored), and Cole McKinney (two hits, stolen base).

The Titans finish their first season in Class A, with a 14-15 record, to go along with their State Tournament appearance.

The Coaches would like to thank everyone — the parents, the fans, community, and all of those behind the scenes, who made this season fun, exciting, and a huge success in continuing a great tradition of baseball in Tea.  And a special Thank you to the players, for making this a special season with their months of practice and hard work.