Rattlers punch ticket to area championship with sweep of Moody in Tolar Saturday

TOLAR — Winning does wonders to young hearts.

After Tolar sophomore pitcher Jackson LeCluyse threw the final strike in the game, freshman catcher Jesse Owens pumped his fist.

He came running up the third base line to congratulate his pitcher, grabbing LeCluyse in a big bear hug.

“We knew we had the confidence,” LeCluyse said after the game. “We knew we could hit. We knew we could play defense. And it’s just fun to see.”

“That was awesome,” Owens said.

All season long these boys played with purpose.

“We’re getting lots of freshmen, lots of sophomores, and they never cease to amaze me at their level of focus,” Tolar Head Coach Lance Alford said after the game Saturday. “These are young kids. These are just kids. 

“You would think that they’re just kind of flying out here and there, but they are laser-focused on the field.”

The Rattlers completed a two-game sweep of the Moody Bearcats by winning 4-1 in Tolar, claiming a well-deserved bi-district title. Tolar’s convincing 11-0 victory in Moody Friday gave them their first win in the three-game series.  

“This is more playoff baseball — the one-run games, the two-run games,” Alford said. “And they made the plays when we needed to make them, you know, big players make big plays in big games.”

Alford was definitely talking about his young catcher.

YOUNG HERO

Owens turned the ballgame in Tolar’s favor after hitting a two-run homer in the bottom of the third inning.

Alford had told the freshman to watch for fastballs. 

“So I choke up on my bat about half an inch, walked up right to the edge of the plate, looking for a fastball inside,” Owens said. “I see it coming and I just unload on it.”

The wind was howling at the ballpark. 

“I thought I hit it too high and it’d be warning-track power,” Owens said.

Moody’s left fielder chased the ball to the fence.

“I kept thinking he’d catch it right at the fence,” Owens said, after watching his ball sail high.

Owens kept running, not knowing how far his ball would travel.

“I hear everyone yell. I look back to see what happened, and I see my ball clear the fence,” he said. “I just start going crazy as I run around the bases.”

An ebullient Tolar dugout came out to greet Owens at home plate. The two-run dinger gave the Rattlers a 3-1 lead.

SLOW START

The Bearcats had drawn first blood, bringing a runner home on a base hit in the top of the second.

That got the coach’s attention. LeCluyse was frustrated at the Bearcats’ momentum. 

Alford called time. He walked to the mound for a chat.

“I was just trying to get the boys to remember that they were playing a great game,” Alford said he told the gaggle of his boys. “Just continue to control what (you) can control. All the rest would take care of itself.”

LeCluyse settled down, striking out 13 and giving up 6 hits, 1 run, and 1 walk in seven innings pitched.

Rattler bats found the ball only four times, but the hits came at just the right time.

“We kept getting people on base but couldn’t connect until the third, fifth and sixth innings,” Alford said. “I can’t say enough of the timeliness of our hitting.”

The Rattlers never let up in their belief they could win.  

“We made a few errors, but they never let it bother them,” Alford said. “They stuck with it.”

MR. ‘CLUTCH’

This team may be young in years, but, as far as the coach is concerned, his boys are wiser for the experience. 

“You know, (LeCluyse is) a starting quarterback in a football team that went two rounds deep in playoffs. That’s got to be a little seasoning,” Alford said. “Then he goes a couple rounds deep in basketball. And then he comes out here in a clutch situation like this — didn’t let anything affect him. He stayed with his plan, and he came up big all day.”

So how does the coach think he’ll keep his young wards focused?

“We don’t want to get off our focus, we want to stay on it,” he said. “We’ll ride this wave as long and as far as it’ll take us.”

LeCluyse agrees: “We’re not done yet. We’re gonna keep going. We’re playing great baseball and I know we can win a bunch of games.”