Thursday, March 28, 2024

Young, talented baseball Rattlers gained valuable seasoning

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It’s true that Tolar’s current baseball season came to an end last week — but it was really just the beginning for coach Lance Alford’s young and talented Rattlers.

Top-ranked Bosqueville swept the best-of-three Class 2A third-round (Region II quarterfinals) playoff series over the Rattlers at Cleburne High School. The Bulldogs improved to 31-2 in advancing to the regional semifinal round this week. 

Tolar gave the Bulldogs a challenge in Game 1 Wednesday night (May 19) — even taking a 1-0 lead in the first inning — but fell by a 5-3 margin. Bosqueville then ended the series with a 10-0 victory in Game 2 on Thursday night (May 20). That game was stopped after five innings on the 10-run mercy rule. 

Not only was Tolar’s 21-5 season mark one of the best records ever for Rattlers baseball, but the trek to the third round of the postseason matched the school’s best single-season playoff success ever in that sport. 

Alford is expecting the entire squad to return intact for the 2022 season. Tolar’s team had no seniors and only two juniors (Joseph Arce and Matt Moor). In addition to two key freshmen, the rest of roster is populated by sophomores.

Each of the 10 Tolar players who got the bulk of the game experience this season was voted to the all-District 13-2A team as either second team, first team, or as one of the superlative award winners. As a team, District 13-2A champion Tolar batted .334 this season — coming off a 3-8 campaign in 2020 that was curtailed by the COVID-19 pandemic.

And every one of the young Rattlers are pumped up and more than ready for next baseball season to arrive. 

“Everybody is coming back. Think about all that experience they got. I’m real excited about that,” Alford said, adding that he “couldn’t ask for anything more.”

After falling in Game 2 Thursday, Alford said he could see the pain in his player’s eyes, “because they knew they could compete” with a team as strong as Bosqueville. The District 14-2A Bulldogs’ season included offensive slugfests that produced 15 or more runs 14 times, and 20 or more runs four times.

Tolar’s 5-3 loss in Game 1 marked only the second time this season that any team (other than Bosqueville’s two losses) played the Bulldogs within two runs (they beat Rogers 4-2). Their two losses were to Blooming Grove, 5-0, in the season opener, and Maypearl, 11-4.

The crowd that showed up for the series was a noisy one, according to Alford, but the Rattlers “came out strong” and showed composure.

Looking ahead to next season, Alford noted that the most important characteristic they showed this year was, “We don’t get rattled, and they are never out of it — and they proved it.”

This marked Alford’s first year as the head coach of the Rattlers, after being an assistant coach at the school. He is an assistant varsity football coach, and coaches junior high boys basketball. Prior to coming to Tolar, Alford had coached at a Christian school in McKInney, and was head baseball coach for four years at Class 4A Gonzales.

Bosqueville advanced to the fourth round of the playoffs to play Windthorst, which eliminated Muenster.

 

GAME 1

May 19

Tolar’s three runs scored on run-scoring singles by Reis Brown and Jackson LeCluyse, along with a wild pitch. Tolar’s Jesse Owen and Joseph Arce also came through with singles, but the Bulldogs out-hit the Rattlers 8-4 overall. 

Bosqueville took a 3-1 lead in the top of the second inning, and led 4-1 in the third before yielding two runs to Tolar in the fourth. Tolar added its final run in the fifth.

Brown was the starting pitcher for Tolar, giving up four runs on five hits while striking out one with no walks. He was relieved by Talan Brown, who worked three frames and yielded one run on three hits while walking one.

Bosqueville031  010  0 — 5  8  2

Tolar  100  200  0 — 3  4  1

 

GAME 2

May 20

In the 10-0 loss in Game 2, the Rattlers hurt themselves with four errors, and were out-hit 8-1. The lone hit for Tolar was a single by Owen.

LeCluyse was Tolar’s starting pitcher, relieved by Connor Mitcham in the fifth inning before Brown finished up. LeCluyse gave up six runs on six hits, struck out five and walked three.

Mitcham allowed three runs on one hit, struck out one and walked two. Brown gave up one run on one hit, and walked one. 

Tolar  000 00 — 0  1  4

Bosqueville  410  14  — 10  8  1

 

mark@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066, ext. 269