The Cougars moved forward in that regard Tuesday as three pitchers combined for a one-hit gem, and College Station rolled to an 8-0 victory over Rudder in District 19-5A action at Ranger Field.
“Our pitching was good; I thought we barrelled the ball up pretty good,” Holder said. “It’s just a process right now, taking baby steps and finding this team’s [identity].”
College Station sophomore starting pitcher Josh Alexander threw five no-hit innings with the only baserunners a trio of hit batsmen. Alexander faced only two over the minimum because one of them was erased on a double play in the second inning. Alexander had five strikeouts and needed only 60 pitches to get through his outing, which ended early so Holder could use other relievers with the game in hand.
“The arm felt good,” Alexander said. “It’s pretty easy to go out there and pitch with a solid defense behind you and lots of run support from our guys. The fastball worked good, and I had command of the slider.”
Junior Dillon Janac hit Brant Roberts to lead off the sixth, but rebounded with a pair of groundouts and a flyout. Senior Brandon Williams pitched a scoreless seventh, ending the game on a strikeout, but not before Rudder’s Ethan Guajardo broke up the no-hitter with a soft liner through the left side of the infield.
Alexander got all the run support he needed in the second inning, which he got started with a one-out walk against Rudder starter Elias Chavarria before giving way to pinch runner Dalton Carnes. Cole Marler reached on an error by the center fielder, and Ben Holbert followed with a single up the middle to score Carnes. Johnny Castillo was hit by a pitch to load the bases, and Bryson Lucas walked to make it 2-0. Kit Cawley then sent an 0-2 pitch into the right-field corner for a bases-clearing triple, and Zach Williams’ single plated Cawley to make it 6-0.
Zach Williams went 3 for 4 with a pair of RBIs, and Holbert went 2 for 4. Lucas reached base in all four of his plate appearances, walking three times.
“That’s what we’re capable of,” Holder said. “We’re a big-inning team. We’ve got to see that that’s who we are and feed off of it.”
The Williams brothers tacked on an insurance run in the fourth as Brandon hit a triple into the right-center gap to score Zach, who had singled. In the fifth, Lucas hit a two-out double and came home on Zach Williams’ single to make it 8-0. Cawley, who had walked following Lucas’ double, tried to score after the throw got away from catcher Rudy Schultz, but Schultz recovered and flipped the ball to Chavarria for the final out of the inning.
Rudder’s Logan Bosley relieved Chavarria to start the sixth and threw two scoreless innings, allowing just two walks and striking out two.
With three regular-season games remaining, College Station (20-8, 7-4) moved into a tie for second in 19-5A with Consol. The Tigers suffered a 9-4 road loss Tuesday to Magnolia West, which clinched the outright district title. Rudder (5-16-1, 3-8) was officially eliminated from playoff contention with the loss.
“It’s the measure of a man to be able to continue to grind and battle even though you know you don’t have a playoff spot,” Rudder coach Chase Sanford said. “Really, our next season starts now. Preparation for that begins now.”
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NOTE — Rudder second baseman Luke Triola made a diving stop up the middle and fired to first to rob College Station’s Chanden Scamardo of a hit in the sixth inning.
College Station 8, Rudder 0
College Station 060 110 0 — 8 8 0
Rudder 000 000 0 — 0 1 1
Josh Alexander, Dillon Janac (6), Brandon Williams (7) and Chanden Scamardo; Elias Chavarria, Logan Bosley (6) and Rudy Schultz.
W — Alexander. L — Chavarria.
Leading hitters: COLLEGE STATION (20-8, 7-4) — Zach Williams 3-4, 2 RBIs, run; Kit Cawley 1-4, 3B, BB, 3 RBIs, run; Bryson Lucas 1-1, ... Click here to read full article
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