NISD Boys Invitational Golf Tourney

NISD Boys Invitational Golf Tournament
Tuesday, 16 Feb 2010, at Wolfdancer Golf Club
Hyatt Lost Pines Resort, Bastrop, Texas

Team Scores

1. DRIPPING SPRINGS
“Schenk, James” 78
“Simmons, Jake” 83
“Gabaldon, Joel” 82
“Barnes, Lance” 82
“Dodd, Tanner” 91
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 325

2. BRANDEIS 2
“Davis, Austin” 81
“Longoria, Jacob” 79
“Matthews, Clayton” 88
“Oliver, Brantley” 96
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 344

3. AUSTIN ANDERSON
“Elbrecht, Tyler” 83
“Frankenfeld, Kyle” 90
“George, Chase” 88
“Sanderson, Joseph” 86
“Leigh, Andrew” 92
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 347

4. CEDAR PARK
“Crisp, Sean” 89
“Madison, Alex” 84
“Lee, Lawrence” 90
“Kirtland, John” 91
“Duran, Jeff” 90
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 353

5. CENTRAL CATHOLIC
“Stegge, Michael” 80
“Gomez, Marquis” 90
“Bourbois, Chris” 89
“Caldwell, Roddy” 98
“Stone, Kevin” 102
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 357

6. HEALTH CAREERS
“Merta, Matthew” 91
“Duggan, Paul” 91
“Mira, David” 88
“Smith, Andrew” 95
“Trager, Myles” 104
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 365

7. AUSTIN ST. ANDREWS
“Salazar, Cris” 89
“Cook, Patrick” 104
“Levy, Alex” 74
“Butler, Jimmy” 100
“Bohls, Will” 999
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 367

8. CLEMENS
“Rubio, Richard” 84
“Buratowski, Andrew” 86
“Hoppes, Zack” 97
“Sligh, Tyler” 101
“Friesenhahn, Trevor” 102
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 368

9. NB CANYON
“Rosales, Coel” 103
“Sanchez, Jason” 95
“Vogel, Jimmy” 97
“Cedillo, Chad” 98
“Patel, Sunny” 92
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 382

10. ROOSEVELT
“Pitcel, Robert” 96
“Aoki, Joshua” 93
“Perales, Hondo” 83
“Kamps, J. T.” 129
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 401

11. TMI
“Laia, Evan” 97
“Gutierrez, Andrew” 113
“McCutcheon, Davis” 103
“West, Cody” 94
“Flores, Miguel” 109
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 403

12. RR MCNEIL
“Dougan, Ewan” 97
“McKinney, Stephen” 103
“Willson, Zach” 95
“Carr, Devin” 122
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 417

13. EDISON
“Henry, Seth” 87
“Castillo, John” 106
“Tavitas, Mark” 136
“Garcia, Ken” 152
“Valdez, Andres” 130
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 459

14. ANTONIAN
“Kalter, Ben” 98
“Seastruck, Jack” 133
“Di Pallo, Ryan” 123
“Montez, Brian” 154
Best 4 of 5 Gross > 508

Individual

“Levy, Alex” AUSTIN ST. ANDREW’S 74 1
“Schenk, James” DRIPPING SPRINGS 78 2
“Longoria, Jacob” S. A. BRANDEIS 79 3
“Stegge, Michael” S. A. CENTRAL CATHOLIC 80 4
“Davis, Austin” S. A. BRANDEIS 81 5
“Gabaldon, Joel” DRIPPING SPRINGS 82
“Barnes, Lance” DRIPPING SPRINGS 82
“Cersosimo, Jack” AUSTIN LANIER M 83
“Simmons, Jake” DRIPPING SPRINGS 83
“Elbrecht, Tyler” AUSTIN ANDERSON 83
“Perales, Hondo” S. A. ROOSEVELT 83
“Madison, Alex” CEDAR PARK 84
“Rubio, Richard” SCHERTZ CLEMENS 84
“Henderson, Will” DRIPPING SPRINGS M 84
“Sanderson, Joseph” AUSTIN ANDERSON 86
“Buratowski, Andrew” SCHERTZ CLEMENS 86
“Henry, Seth” S. A. EDISON 87
“Mira, David” S. A. HEALTH CAREERS 88
“Matthews, Clayton” S. A. BRANDEIS 88
“George, Chase” AUSTIN ANDERSON 88
“Crisp, Sean” CEDAR PARK 89
“Salazar, Cris” AUSTIN ST. ANDREW’S 89
“Bourbois, Chris” S. A. CENTRAL CATHOLIC 89
“Lee, Lawrence” CEDAR PARK 90
“Duran, Jeff” CEDAR PARK 90
“Gomez, Marquis” S. A. CENTRAL CATHOLIC 90
“Frankenfeld, Kyle” AUSTIN ANDERSON 90
“Duggan, Paul” S. A. HEALTH CAREERS 91
“Merta, Matthew” S. A. HEALTH CAREERS 91
“Dodd, Tanner” DRIPPING SPRINGS 91
“Kirtland, John” CEDAR PARK 91
“Leigh, Andrew” AUSTIN ANDERSON 92
“Patel, Sunny” NEW BRAUNFELS CANYON 92
“Aoki, Joshua” S. A. ROOSEVELT 93
“West, Cody” S. A. TEXAS MILITARY INSTITUTE 94
“Willson, Zach” ROUND ROCK MCNEIL 95
“Sanchez, Jason” NEW BRAUNFELS CANYON 95
“Smith, Andrew” S. A. HEALTH CAREERS 95
“Oliver, Brantley” S. A. BRANDEIS 96
“Pitcel, Robert” S. A. ROOSEVELT 96
“Dougan, Ewan” ROUND ROCK MCNEIL 97
“Hoppes, Zack” SCHERTZ CLEMENS 97
“Vogel, Jimmy” NEW BRAUNFELS CANYON 97
“Laia, Evan” S. A. TEXAS MILITARY INSTITUTE 97
“Kalter, Ben” S. A. ANTONIAN 98
“Cedillo, Chad” NEW BRAUNFELS CANYON 98
“Caldwell, Roddy” S. A. CENTRAL CATHOLIC 98
“Butler, Jimmy” AUSTIN ST. ANDREW’S 100
“Sligh, Tyler” SCHERTZ CLEMENS 101
“Friesenhahn, Trevor” SCHERTZ CLEMENS 102
“Stone, Kevin” S. A. CENTRAL CATHOLIC 102
“McKinney, Stephen” ROUND ROCK MCNEIL 103
“McCutcheon, Davis” S. A. TEXAS MILITARY INSTITUTE 103
“Rosales, Coel” NEW BRAUNFELS CANYON 103
“Cook, Patrick” AUSTIN ST. ANDREW’S 104
“Trager, Myles” S. A. HEALTH CAREERS 104
“Castillo, John” S. A. EDISON 106
“Flores, Miguel” S. A. TEXAS MILITARY INSTITUTE 109
“Gutierrez, Andrew” S. A. TEXAS MILITARY INSTITUTE 113
“Martin, Cole” AUSTIN ST. ANDREW’S M 116
“Carr, Devin” ROUND ROCK MCNEIL 122
“Di Pallo, Ryan” S. A. ANTONIAN 123
“Kamps, J. T.” S. A. ROOSEVELT 129
“Valdez, Andres” S. A. EDISON 130
“Seastruck, Jack” S. A. ANTONIAN 133
“Tavitas, Mark” S. A. EDISON 136
“Garcia, Ken” S. A. EDISON 152
“Montez, Brian” S. A. ANTONIAN 154

Antonian overcomes Central Catholic

Big third quarter keys Apaches’ 66-63 victory

by Mark Kusenberger
SAsports.com Senior Writer

Photos by Rene Garza

Jonathan Holmes kept Antonian from getting blown out in the first half by Central Catholic. Eric Garza led their third quarter comeback. Then Holmes took over again to make sure it stuck.

It added up to a 66-63 Apache victory over the Central Catholic Buttons Wednesday night before a large, boisterous crowd at the Paul Taylor Field House.

Walker contributed 13 points in the first half and 11 in fourth quarter on his way to a game high 25. Garza scored 11 in the third, including three treys, finishing with 14.

Despite Walker’s efforts, which included some startling athleticism on several baskets, Central Catholic dominated the first quarter and led 21-12 after one quarter. A quick three-pointer by Alex Senioris set the tone, as Central Catholic compensated for Antonian’s height advantage. Senioris had six points while Cole Martinez added nine for the Buttons.

Antonian (21-7, 2-0 in TAPPS 2-5A) put more emphasize on working the ball inside in the second quarter, but in the short term it only kept them from falling further behind. While the 6’7 Walker scored seven points and the 6’7 Jerred Kite scored six, Robert Johnson led the Buttons with six points, and Central Catholic actually outscored Antonian 18-17 in the second quarter, sending the teams to the locker room with the Buttons ahead 39-29.

At halftime, Antonian honored their state champion team from 1968, coached by later St Mary’s University legend Buddy Meyer, who was present for the ceremony. All present were about a dozen of the team’s member, including two of Romy Vela’s brothers. Romy Vela is now the head basketball coach at Central Catholic (18-8, 0-1 in TAPPS 2-5A.)

Maybe it was the halftime ceremony, maybe it was Antonian coach Andre Walker’s halftime speech, maybe it was adjustments, but the Apaches shut down Central Catholic in the third quarter. The zone defense they adopted kept the Buttons’ inside game under wraps, and the Buttons’ outside scoring dried up. Antonian spent the first six minutes of the first half on a 14-0 run, beginning with a putback from Holmes, and ending with a steal and driving layup from Garza. Two Buttons timeouts failed to stem the tide, and a 39-29 deficit became a 43-39 lead.

Of course, this being a Central Catholic-Antonian contest, the outcome could not be easy. A Cole Martinez trey to start the fourth retook the lead for Central 47-46, then a putback from Holmes put the Apaches back on top. Although Antonian built the lead up to five, Martinez, who scored 13 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, scored with 1:30 left to put the Buttons ahead 62-61. Holmes scored again to put Antonian back in the lead, then free throws from Garza built the lead to 65-62.

Phil Betencourt went to the free throw line with 9.8 seconds left for the Buttons’ last chance. After making the first free throw, he deliberately missed the second, but a lane violation gave the ball to Antonian. Garza hit a free throw with 7.75 seconds left for the final margin.

The Antonian victory keeps them undefeated in district along with idle Austin St Michael’s in five-team TAPPS District 2-5A.

Quarters
CENTRAL CATHOLIC 21 18 5 19 - 63
ANTONIAN 12 17 17 20 - 66

CENTRAL CATHOLIC SCORING: Cole Martinez 25, Alex Senioris 15, Tommy Berry 7, Dylan Delgado 6, Robert Johnson 6, Matt Hidalgo 3, Phil Betencourt 1, Rob Venturini, Geovan Franco

ANTONIAN SCORING: Jonathan Holmes 25, Eric Garza 14, Jerred Kite 10, Sean Bambace 7, Jacob Cukjati 6, Justin Brickman, Anthony Gabriel

Buttons dominate Fighting Irish

Central Catholic defeats El Paso Cathedral 28-6 to advance to state quarterfinals

by Mark Kusenberger
SAsports.com Senior Writer

Central Catholic quarterback Andrew Dickenson came into Saturday’s game having completed 10 of 13 passes for 118 yards and a touchdown – but all those numbers were generated in mopup duty.

With Pat Sullivan out for the year, Dickenson was pressed into starting duty for the Buttons’ opening round playoff game against El Paso Cathedral. It turned out Dickenson was plenty ready, completing 10 of 17 passes for 148 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception, leading the Buttons to a 28-6 victory over the El Paso Cathedral Fighting Irish Saturday evening at Bob Benson ’66 Stadium.

The victory was Carlos Enrico’s 150th as head coach of Central Catholic (8-3). Of the four San Antonio schools to make the TAPPS Division I playoffs – Central Catholic, Holy Cross, Antonian, and St. Anthony – only the Buttons advanced to the second round.

Cathedral (6-5) enjoyed success when they could run behind their huge offensive line, averaging 272 pounds per man. But after forcing a Central Catholic punt, Cathedral went three and out themselves. Dickenson quickly found Aiden McCabe for a 39 pass, setting up Marshall Weinkam’s 2 yard touchdown run. After Bradley Ratliff’s point after, Central Catholic went ahead 7-0.

On the third play of their next drive, Cathedral’s Toby Porras fumbled and Central Catholic nose tackle Brian Blanco recovered at the Fighting Irish 39. Six plays later, Dickenson found Eddie Perez for a two-yard touchdown pass, and the Buttons were ahead 14-0.

The Buttons again squelched Cathedral’s running game, forcing a three-and-out. On the first play of the second quarter, Dickenson found Jake Wanamaker down the left sideline, where the receiver turned on the jets of his 4.5 speed and outraced defenders to the end zone, putting Central Catholic ahead 21-0.

Forced to go the air, Cathedral did move the ball, but stalled several times in Button territory. David Sauter, who had 13 carries for 75 yards running the ball, missed a 26-yard field goal. On the next possession, Sauter’s 38-yard reception from John Lee Quiett set up the Fighting Irish at the Button 30, but Cathedral stalled at the 34.

Cathedral got their touchdown during the two-minute drill. A 10-play, 79 yard drive – all passes, culminated with a 23 yard pass from Quiett to Robert Macias with 11.9 seconds left in the half. The extra point was wide left, so the Buttons led 21-6 at intermission.

Quiett, whose season high for pass attempts was 15 and for yardage was 159, completed 8 of 19 passes for 158 yards and a touchdown – in the first half.

Steven Fullerton gave Cathedral a chance in the third quarter, intercepting a Dickenson pass and returning it to the Central 19 yard line. But with third-and-goal at the 5, Cathedral committed a procedure penalty, backing them up to the 10. Two Quiett passes fell incomplete, and Cathedral still trailed by 15.

The Buttons put the game away on their next drive. Of the 5 plays, four were Eddie Perez runs, including a 36-yard run to set up his 24-yard touchdown. Ratliff’s point after gave Central their 28-6 final margin.

Perez finished with 16 carries for 109 yards and a touchdown for the Buttons to lead all rushers. Cathedral’s Quiett completed 15 passes in 38 attempts for 251 yards and a touchdown. Cathedral finished with season lows for rushing yards (75) and points scored (6.)

Central Catholic will next play the Houston St. Pius Panthers in Houston, with details to be determined.

Football: Central Catholic vs. St. Anthony - In Pictures

Photos by Antonio Morano
SAsports.com Senior Photographer
www.moranomemories.photoreflect.com
amorano@satx.rr.com

The Central Catholic Buttons dominated the football field on Saturday afternoon, defeating the St. Anthony Yellowjackets 42-7…

… before a wild crowd, including the ‘Section R’ rowdies, who witnessed this takeaway for the Buttons.

With the win, Central Catholic can now concentrate on next week’s big game against rival Antonian.

More photos are available for viewing:
www.moranomemories.photoreflect.com
amorano@satx.rr.com

Football: Central Catholic vs. Harlandale - In Pictures

by Jaime Rivera
sca1pel@mac.com

The Harlandale Indians came into their home opener on a high note, having defeated Eagle Pass Winn the week before.

But Central Catholic had an answer for just about everything, and took the matchup with Harlandale 36-6 Thursday night at Harlandale Memorial Stadium.

Many more pictures are available:
sca1pel@mac.com

Juniors double-up Graduates

Seniors defeated 12-6 in 2009 San Antonio All-Star Game

by Mark Kusenberger
SAsports.com Staff Writer
www.TSRNsports.com

Stevens’ Rene Solis doubled home the go-ahead run, and Boerne Champion’s Chad Long followed with a two-run homer in the 7th to lead the Junior team to a 12-6 victory over the Senior team in the San Antonio Area All-Star Game Tuesday night at North East Stadium.

After giving up two runs in each of the first two innings, the Junior pitchers twirled six shutout innings. The rally made a winner of Alamo Heights’ Luke Maloy. Steele’s Hunter Flake, who was victimized by all six unearned runs, was the losing pitcher.

Each team used nine pitchers for one inning apiece, and each team used 16-player batting orders to maximize participation. Each team also inserted an extra batter into the lineup in the 5th inning, a common occurrence in high school all-star games.

The Seniors took an early lead against Medina Valley’s Weston Heiligman. Boerne Champion’s Niko Gonzalez led off with a double; one out later, Central Catholic’s Roger Zamarripa walked. Del Rio’s Jack Mayfield grounded into a force play; Zamarripa was out, but Gonzalez went to third. MacArthur’s Nick Smelser doubled down the left field line to score Gonzalez, then Mayfield scored on a wild pitch, giving the seniors a 2-0 lead.

The lead was extended against O’Connor’s Marc McGraw. Madison’s Nick Lee and Churchill’s Clint Sharp led off with back-to-back singles. One out later, O’Connor’s Cody Scott singled home Lee, then San Antonio Christian’s Trey Catalani drove in Sharp with a fielder’s choice grounder, moving the Seniors to a 4-0 lead.

The South finally broke through against Liberty Hill’s Gene Lucas, an apparent last minute addition who wasn’t listed on www.jimscout.com at this writing. Lucas walked Medina Valley’s Troy Stein and Reagan’s Brad Hall, then hit Johnson’s Jacoby Almarez with a 2-2 pitch to load the bases. Stevens’ Rene Solis then singled up the middle to drive in Stein and Ford. An error on a snap-throw by the catcher allowed Almarez and Solis to advanced a base, then two outs later, Almarez scored on a wild pitch to cut the margin to 4-3 seniors.

Then the pitchers took over. Starting with Lucas retiring the last three batters he faced, the seniors retired 12 straight, with New Braunfels Canyon’s Tony Gonzales, Marion’s Jordan Littlefield, and Clark’s Carl O’Neal all recording 1-2-3 innings. Meanwhile, rom the third through the eighth, junior pitchers faced only two over the minimum. Comfort’s Michael Wright, Judson’s Cody Boswell, Madison’s Chris Penn, Alamo Heights’ Luke Maloy, Boerne Champion’s Dylan Boss, and Harlandale’s Geoffrey Curtin each turned in an inning during the stretch. Boswell struck out two batters looking, and Maloy struck out the side swinging.

The Juniors took the lead for good in the seventh, scoring six unearned runs on just two hits. Steele’s Hunter Flake walked Reagan’s Alex Kendall and Medina Valley’s Troy Stein, but got Reagan’s Brad Hall to hit into a double play, advancing Kendall to third. Flake then struck out Almarez, but strike three was a wild pitch, allowing Almarez to try to go to first. Scott’s throwing error trying to retired Almarez allowed Almarez to reach and Kendall to score the tying run, and the inning continued.

Solis followed with his run-scoring double, then Long homered on an 0-2 pitch to put the juniors ahead 7-4.

MacArthur’s Patrick Ward and South San’s Rene Gallegos scored the remaining two runs in the inning as the juniors took advantage of a hit batsman, a walk, and two more errors. It was 9-4 Juniors after seven.

The Juniors added two more runs in the eighth against Reagan’s Corbin Oakes. Oakes struck out the first two hitters he faced before Churchill’s Dustin Aguilar singled and Boerne Champion’s Taylor Davis walked. Both scored on a double down the left field line by O’Connor’s T.J. Greene, making it 11-4 Juniors.

The Juniors added a final run in the 9th off Reagan’s Carter Hahn. Brad Hall hit a sharp grounder through third baseman Tijerina’s legs to reach on a error. Hall went to second on a grounder by Almarez, went to third on a wild pitch, and scored on a grounder by Solis. It was Solis’s fourth RBI of the night, pushing the Juniors’ lead to 12-4. Long followed with a double to the left field gap to go with his homer, but was stranded.

In the bottom of the ninth, the Seniors did strike back against Hall. Mayfield got a one-out single; after the second out, Burbank’s Alex Salas struck out, but reached on a passed ball, the second time in the ballgame a two-out strikeout failed to end an inning. After a double-steal, Mayfield and Salas scored on a sharp single to right by Justin Beck. Nick Lee drew a walk, but he and Beck were stranded when Hall struck out Sharp to end the game.

The matchup of seniors vs. juniors meant several players got to hit against a former teammate’s pitch.

2nd inning – O’Connor – senior Cody Scott gets an RBI single against Marc McGraw.

4th inning – New Braunfels Canyon – senior Tony Gonzales strikes out junior Tyler Figol.

5th inning – Madison – junior Chris Penn strikes out senior Nick Lee.

8th inning – Reagan – junior Alex Kendall draws a walk from senior Corbin Oakes.

9th inning – Reagan – junior Brad Hall reaches on an error and scores against senior Carter Hahn.

Button Baseball bound for state

Three-run double by Zamarripa keys 3-2 victory over Plano John Paul II

by Mark Kusenberger
SAsports.com Staff Writer
www.TSRNsports.com

Roger Zamarripa’s three-run, two-out double in the second inning gave Central Catholic all the runs they needed in a 3-2 victory over the Plano John Paul II Cardinals Saturday afternoon at Burrows-Gustafson Stadium.

The victory sends Central Catholic (17-10-2) back to the TAPPS 5A State Tournament, where they will face Dallas Bishop Lynch Friday afternoon at Waco ISD Field #1 beginning at 2:30 p.m.

The Buttons, who scored all their runs against El Paso Cathedral in the fourth inning, scored all their runs against Plano John Paul II in the second. Brian Schnettgoecke led off the inning with a walk, after which Nick Garcia singled past the shortstop to send Schnettgoecke to second. Alex Garcia, trying to bunt the runners over, popped up the pitch; Cardinals pitcher Preston Williams (4-5) caught the ball for out #1, then threw to second to pick off Schnettgoecke for out #2. After Nick Garcia stole second, Stephen Burkholder hit a grounder that appeared destined to end the inning, but the third baseman let the ball through his legs for an error, allowing Burkholder to reach and Nick Garcia to advance to third. After Devin Padilla took a pitch on the elbow to load the bases, Zamarripa smashed a 2-0 pitch over the center fielder’s head, allowing Nick Garcia, Burkholder and courtesy runner Marco Carreon to score, putting Central Catholic ahead 3-0.

After a pitch hit Zander Tover, Joseph Colon popped up to the second baseman to end the second.

Central Catholic had few other opportunities against Williams. The Buttons stranded the bases loaded in the first. In the third, Eric Ramirez led off with a single, but was promptly caught stealing. After the caught stealing, Williams retired eight in a row.

When Ramirez led off the sixth with a walk, John Paul II coach Brian Gaffney pulled Williams in favor of lefty Shane Dougherty. Dougherty threw to first base 9 times to keep Ramirez close, but did manage to throw 11 pitches also, retiring Brian Schnettgoecke, Nick Garcia, and Alex Garcia on fly falls to escape the jam.

Cardinal pitching retired 11 of the last 12 Buttons hitters, with the last six outs coming on fly balls to the outfield.

Padilla (7-2), pitching on three days rest after throwing a complete game in Central Catholic’s first round victory over El Paso Cathedral Tuesday, pitched the first five innings, giving up 6 hits and 2 runs – 1 earned – walking 2 and striking out 2.

John Paul II – no affiliation with Corpus Christi John Paul II – chipped at the Button lead in the third with a two-out rally. Mike Schmeck, who will play football for the Naval Academy in the fall, doubled down the left field line, then Ryan Doane drew a walk. Mike Skelton followed with a grounder to shortstop Joseph Colon; Colon bobbled the ball, then in trying to make the best of the situation stepped on second base so that once he did control the ball, he’d have an inning ending force play on Doane. However, Colon never gained found the handle, and Coach Gaffney sent Schmeck home to score from second on the Colon error. Blair Niermeyer grounded out to Padilla to end the inning, but John Paul II had pulled within 3-1.

Plano John Paul II (8-28) was the 5th seed out of TAPPS District 1-5A, a 7-team district in which 6 teams were slotted for the playoffs and one team was declared ineligible after the regular season concluded. But the Cardinals started 5 sophomores, including the pitcher Williams and the catcher Ryan Longo, and appeared to get stronger as the season was drawing to a close. Even so, youthful mistakes hurt the team.

In the fourth, John Smiser led off with a single to center. Daniel Parfitt followed with what appeared to be a shallow popup, but the wind carried it all the way to the right field warning track. Smiser had to hold in case the ball was caught, then once it landed, tried to advance to third. Smiser was thrown out on a relay play: right fielder Burkholder to second baseman Rene Vargas to third baseman Zamarripa. Ultimately, Parfitt was stranded at second.

The Cardinals got a second run in the fifth, but had an opportunity for more. With one out, Schmeck and Doane hit back-to-back doubles, with Schmeck scoring to make the score 3-2 Central Catholic. Skelton grounded out to the second baseman to advance Doane to third, then pinch-hitter Johnathan Fennton drew a walk. With the count 1-1 to Smiser, Niermeyer broke for second, apparently to set up a delayed steal of home by Doane in hopes of tying the game. But the pitcher Padilla, disguised his intent by facing away from Niermeyer, then wheeled and threw to the second baseman Vargas when Niermeyer was a little past halfway to second. Vargas tagged the shocked Niermeyer 10 feet short of second to end the inning, while Doane never even budged away from third.

A tired Padilla left the game at the start of the sixth and Alex Garcia went from left field to take over on the mound. After giving up a leadoff single to Smiser, Garcia retired the next six Cardinals to end the game and earn a save. Garcia struck out four, including all three Cardinal batters he faced in the seventh. Schmeck, who had two doubles and scored both Cardinal runs, was the second of Garcia’s seventh inning victims.

Central Catholic, having dispatched independent El Paso Cathedral and District 1-5A fifth place team Plano John Paul II, will now face the 1-5A champion Bishop Lynch (26-5) in the state semifinals. Examining common opponents gives little hint as to the outcome. Each team played El Paso Cathedral, with Bishop Lynch beating the Fighting Irish 5-1 in March and Central Catholic defeating them 4-1 in the first round. Central Catholic defeated John Paul II 3-2 in the second round of the playoffs, while John Paul II district rival Bishop Lynch pounded the Cardinals 11-0 and 10-0. At the same time, Bishop Lynch defeated Holy Cross 4-3 in the first round, while Holy Cross district rival Central Catholic pounded the Knights 15-4 and 12-1.

Central Catholic advances to TAPPS state quarterfinals

Buttons overcome talented El Paso Cathedral team 4-1

By Mark Kusenberger
SAsports.com Staff Writer
www.TSRNsports.com

A two-run single by Nick Garcia gave Central Catholic the lead and Devin Padilla pitched a complete game to make it stand as the Buttons defeated the El Paso Cathedral Fighting Irish 4-1 Tuesday night at V.J. Keefe Stadium.

Central Catholic (16-10-2) will face Plano John Paul II with the winner to advance to the state tournament in Waco. The game is tentatively scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday afternoon at Burrows-Gustafson Stadium.

While Central Catholic had played on a somewhat regular basis throughout April, only clinching the district championship Saturday, El Paso Cathedral had not played since their 15-1 victory over Clint on April 21st. Their starting pitcher, Ryan Canak, hadn’t pitched since April 11th against Santa Teresa, a school from New Mexico.

Canak (4-2) had given up only three runs – one earned – in 29 innings pitched going into Tuesday; his earned run average was 0.24. But after throwing three innings of two-hit shutout baseball and protecting a 1-0 lead, Canak lost command of the strike zone, walking the bases loaded on 14 pitches while falling behind 3-0 to all three batters he faced. Cody Downing, who was 4-0 in 6 starts with an ERA of 0.97, came over from his shortstop position to make his first relief appearance of the season; then also fell behind 3-0 to Nick Garcia. After throwing strike one, Downing induced Garcia to pop up in foul ground, but the ball was dropped on the warning track by the catcher for strike two. Given the reprieve, Garcia singled to right field, driving in Jordan Colon and Eric Ramirez, putting the Buttons in front.

After Garcia stole second, Brian Schnettgoecke was caught stealing home on a failed squeeze play, catcher to third base to pitcher. Alex Garcia went on to strike out for the second out; then Downing’s command failed him. With Nick Garcia at first as the only base runner, Downing walked Stephen Burkholder and Devin Padilla to load the bases. Roger Zamarripa was hit by a pitch to drive home Nick Garcia and make it 3-1, then Zander Tovar drew a four-pitch walk to extend the lead to 4-1. Colon, the 10th batter of the inning, struck out to end the fourth.

Nick Garcia’s single was the only hit of the inning. Canak, who’d given up only one earned run all season before Tuesday, gave up two against Central Catholic.

El Paso Cathedral had taken the lead in the second when David McKay hit a two-out double to right, followed by a Steve Fullerton walk and an RBI base hit by Diego Delgadillo.

The Fighting Irish had a fantastic lineup, including five players who have received Division I scholarships, and more whom are expected to. Their lineup includes four players hitting over .500 (including Gabe Lowerlee - hitting .627 with seven homers and seven triples), seven players hitting over .400, and everyone hitting at least .367. But Devin Padilla kept them in check; the Fighting Irish, perhaps affected by the layoff, were unusually impatient at the plate, as Padilla gave up seven hits and one run (earned) in a complete game victory. Padilla struck out four and walked one, throwing 109 pitches.

Central Catholic baseball wins district

Buttons hold off Apache rally in 4-3 victory at Antonian

by Mark Kusenberger
SAsports.com Staff Writer
www.TSRNsports.com

Devin Padilla threw out the tying run at the plate for the final out of a 4-3 Central Catholic victory at Antonian Saturday afternoon.

The play halted a two-run rally in the bottom of the 7th, allowing the Buttons to hold on to the victory and win the TAPPS 5A District 2 Championship.

Central Catholic led 4-1 going into the bottom of the 7th, and reliever Alex Garcia, who would earn the save, retired the first two batters he faced. Christian Carreon reached on an error; then Dylan Romo singled up the middle. Patrick Ramirez singled past the second baseman to center to load the bases, after which Matt Smith hit a grounder that went off Garcia’s glove for an error, allowing Carreon to score and cut the lead to 4-2. Nefi Rodriguez singled to left, scoring Romo to make it 4-3, and Antonian coach Cedrick Harris sent Ramirez home as well. Padilla threw wide of the plate on the first base side, but catcher Zander Tover – who’d suffered copious heckling from Antonian fans after a 7th inning strikeout – caught the ball cleanly and dove for Ramirez, applying the tag before the runner could cross the plate.

The winning pitcher for Central Catholic was freshman Marco Carreon. Carreon is small enough that he looked like a 7th grader wearing his father’s uniform, but his herky-jerky motion kept Antonian batters off balance. Carreon pitched 4+ innings, giving up just one hit and one run, which was earned. Carreon struck out three Apaches, walked three, and hit two with pitches.

Central Catholic scored all their runs off losing pitcher Jeff Dorsey. In a peculiar first inning rally, Stephen Burkholder led off with a single to second. Padilla following with a popup to shallow center; Christian Carreon dropped it, but recovered in time to throw to the shortstop Ramirez, retiring Burkholder on an 8-6 force play. Padilla would score on a double to center by Roger Zamarripa. Zamarripa was thrown out at third trying to stretch the hit into a triple; Carreon threw to cutoff man Danny Martinez, who relayed to third baseman Dylan Romo, who tagged out Zamarripa.

Joseph Colon led off the Button second with a walk. Two outs later, #9 hitter Brian Schnettgoecke doubled over the left fielder’s head to put runners on second and third, then Burkholder reached on an error by the pitcher, allowing Colon to scoring and upping the Central Catholic lead to 2-0. Padilla popped up to the shortstop Ramirez to end the inning.

The Buttons chased Dorsey in the third when Eric Ramirez drew a two-out walk, which Colon followed with a homer to left field. Central Catholic led 4-0, but Luciano Villanueva came in from left field to pitch, throwing shutout ball the last 4 and 1/3 innings for Antonian.

Carreon threw a one-out shutout through four; then plunked #9 Antonian hitter Danny Martinez with his first pitch of the fifth inning. Central Catholic coach Mike Gomez, rather than letting Antonian hitters get a third look at his freshman pitcher, brought in left fielder Alex Garcia to pitch. Garcia gave up a double to Carreon, advancing Martinez to third; then Romo had an RBI grounder to short, putting Antonian on the board, down 4-1. Garcia got Ramirez and Matt Smith to ground out, ending the inning without further scoring.

More unusual things happened in the bottom of the sixth. Antonian’s baseball field is open and below the surrounding ground level. The outfield field fence is chain link and extends only from foul pole to foul pole, and a berm rises behind the left field fence to the school’s parking lot. Nefi Rodriguez led off the sixth with a shot down the left field line; it rolled into foul ground, past the outfield fence and 15 feet up the berm for a ground-rule double. Antonian’s threat was squelched when Button catcher Zander Tovar picked Rodriguez off second.

With the regular season concluded, the TAPPS playoffs begin next week, defying the swine flu scare. Central Catholic will host independent El Paso Cathedral in the first round Tuesday at V.J. Keefe field; Cathedral boasts five Division I players on their roster. Antonian will host the third place team in the Houston district in the first round, probably St Pius.

Good luck to everyone on today’s TAKS test!

Everyone here at SAsports.com wishes the best for the freshman, sophomores, and juniors who are taking the TAKS test today. Think positively, eliminate distractions, and success will follow.

God bless you guys!

- Jay Tope