First came the lightning. Then came the thunder from Calallen’s bats.
After waiting through several lightning delays that stretched nearly three hours, the defending state champion Wildcats erupted for a 13-run second inning and rolled past Davenport 16-6 in five innings Friday night at Cabaniss Baseball Field.
The win not only completed a two-game sweep in the Class 4A Division I regional final series, it also sent Calallen to the state semifinals for the 15th time in program history.
“We just hung out at the ballpark and our kids stayed ready to play,” Calallen coach Steve Chapman said. “They knew what was at stake, a trip to the state tournament and the Final Four, and they were not going to be denied.”
Drayton Mitchell, who hit for the cycle in Game 1, once again set the tone by launching a solo home run in the first inning to spark Calallen’s offense.
Mitchell finished 2-for-2 with a home run, double, RBI and two walks and tossed two innings with a pair of strikeouts.
“I just wanted to stay aggressive at the plate, stay confident and not get too big up there,” Mitchell said after the win. “My bench helped me out a lot.”
The Wildcats turned the game into a rout in the second inning after sending 17 batters to the plate and scoring 14 runs.
Drayson Gamez highlighted the inning with a bases-clearing triple that pushed the lead to 6-0. Mitchell followed with an RBI double, and Reese Rusher delivered a two-run single. Gamez added a two-run single to finish with all four of his RBIs in the inning.
“It really starts with the coaches,” Gamez said. “They keep us focused. The delay could knock you off your game, but our guys stayed focused and did their job. They battled in the box and our pitchers did great on the mound.”
The Wildcats (36-2) increased their winning streak to 24 games ahead of next week’s state semifinal matchup.
Calallen will play the winner of the Bullard-Huffman Hargrave series, which is scheduled to conclude on Saturday.
“It means a lot,” Mitchell said. “I love every single one of these guys, and we fight for each other each and every day. We bring the same intensity to practice every day.”
Chapman hopes the Wildcats’ offense will carry over into the state semifinals.
Calallen, which began the week averaging more than 10 runs a game, is looking to become the first Coastal Bend team to win back-to-back state titles since Robstown in 1991 and 1992.
“This is what we play for every year,” Chapman said. “We set our goal at the beginning of the year to get to this point. We’ve reached that part, but we haven’t reached our final goal.”
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Calallen baseball weathers delays to storm back into state semifinals
Reporting by Rey Castillo, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
