Rattlers return to region quarterfinals with 8-5 victory over Carroll
By Mark Kusenberger
tsrnsports.com
Special to SAsports.com
Call it vindication.
Call it revenge.
Whatever else you may call it, it’s a sweet victory for the Reagan Rattlers, who defeated the Corpus Christi Carroll Tigers 8-5 Thursday night at Joe Hunter Field in Beeville.
The one-game series goes to Reagan (32-2), and they will play the winner of the Stevens-Bowie series, led by the Falcons one game to none.
Reagan lost 1-run leads in the bottom of the 7th in both Games 2 and 3 of last year’s matchup between the teams. This year, they made sure it would be different.
Casey Selsor (10-0), the losing pitcher in both of Reagan’s losses in the Carroll series last season, was masterful through six. Selsor didn’t give up a hit until one out in the 5th, when Jose Luis Hinojosa singled up the middle, and had a two-hit shutout through five. Reagan, on the other hand, had at least one hit and advanced a runner to third in every inning of the ballgame. Eight of the nine hitters in the Reagan batting order got a hit.
The Rattlers broke through in the second. Corbin Oakes walked and was sacrificed to second by Ben Mrachek. Oakes went to third on a passed ball and scored on Brad Hall’s Texas Leaguer to right field. Reagan added two more in the third on a homer by Vinny Postert.
In the fifth, Carroll starting pitcher and fourth-year starter Jeremy Narvaez seemed to unravel. With one out, Santiago Ruiz singled to center, then consecutive wild pitches moved his courtesy runner Taylor Morris to second and third. Morris scored on a single by Postert, then Postert stole second on the next pitch. Postert scored on a single by Oakes, who went to second when the ball was bobbled in left field. A wild pitch and an error on a ground ball allowed Oakes to score the sixth Reagan run. After the error, Narvaez made way on the mound for Jose Luis Hinojosa, who struck out Robby Van Cour to end the threat.
Still not satisfied, Reagan kept the pressure on in the sixth. Against Hinojosa, Derrick Walls led off with a single to right. A napping defense left second and third uncovered, allowing Walls to steal those bases before the ball was returned to the mound. A sacrifice fly by Jordan Mengele made it 7-0 Reagan. Selsor singled, then a pair of Carroll errors allowed his courtesy runner Garrett Cox to score.
Carroll, a defending Region finalist with six returning starters, committed 7 errors Thursday night. But the game wouldn’t end until they reminded everyone why they went so far in 2007.
Narvaez walked to lead off the seventh, the second walk issued by Selsor. One out later, Jose Luis Hinojosa singled off the glove of leaping second baseman Vinny Postert to put runners at first and second. Dustin Grohman singled to right to drive home Narvaez for the first Carroll run, with Hinojosa going to third, and Grohman going to second on the throw home.
Ryan Mungia reached on an error by the third baseman, allowing Hinojosa to score and draw Carroll within 8-2. Ben Villafuerte grounded into a force play to retire Mungia but drive home Grohman, making it 8-3. Then Luke Garza clubbed a two-run homer over the left field scoreboard to bring Carroll within 8-5.
Reagan had pitchers warming up in the bullpen. But Reagan coach Chans Chapman gave Selsor one more hitter to face.
Selsor struck out four-letter catcher Zach Luevanos on five pitches to seal the victory. Selsor finished the game striking out 7.
Selsor, who threw 91 pitches through six innings, needed 39 to get through the seventh.
But he finished the game, on the mound, with a victory, and no one wearing the Reagan Rattler green would prefer it any other way.
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