Friday night, Westlake recorded a win for the history books, finishing a sweep of South San Antonio in two games with a 12th-inning comeback win. The Chaps won the first game of the series in Marion, Texas by mercy rule with a score of 11-1. The game ended with a large-scale skirmish when players were shaking hands. At Woerner Field, Westlake closed out with a home win thanks to a walk-off in the bottom of the 12th inning to win 8-7.  

“We were hyped for the comeback victory and the series win,” pitcher junior Ethan Siegel said. “It’s the first time in a while that Westlake baseball has been in the third round of the playoffs. We have good momentum going into a big series.”

The game started off on the wrong foot for pitcher senior Taylor Anderson when he let up two runs in the first inning and eventually was pulled out of the game in the third.

“It was frustrating at first,” Siegel said. “But we kept playing our game and the hits came around. All it took was a couple hits to spark the comeback.”

The Chaps then brought in pitcher senior Ben Knaupe, who let up five more runs in the third inning, putting them behind 0-7. At that point, a game three was looming, and it wasn’t until the later innings that the Chaps got the ball rolling.

Westlake found its groove in the last knockings, scoring seven runs in the sixth inning to tie things up thanks to crucial hits from seniors second baseman Ford Elliot and catcher Grant Roosma. Juniors outfielder Elliot Schwarzbach, and shortstop Gray Harrison also contributed to the offensive explosion. For run prevention, pitcher senior Dylan Savino then came in during extra innings and cooked for the Chaps, lasting six innings, allowing one hit and striking out eight along the way. Finally, in the bottom of the 12th inning, catcher junior Leo Lowin doubled on a 1-1 count, sending home junior outfielder Austin Schmidt from third to end the game.

“Our team plays a pretty loose game regardless of the score,” Siegel said. “Even when we got down, we were confident in ourselves and our ability.”

The Chaps now move on to face Reagan High School in the next round of the playoffs. They will play in San Antonio for game one May 16, and then at Woerner Field May 17. Stay tuned for coverage of the Friday game as it happens on @fdsportswhs on Twitter and Instagram.