Dripping Springs went from thinking it had taken a 7th inning lead to seeing its season come to a heartbreaking end a few short minutes later Saturday afternoon in Houston.
Moments after the first base umpire ruled Jake Pardue out at first (play is at 1:59:15 of Texan Live broadcast) after he appeared to beat out a 2-out chopper that would have scored Bobby Wilkinson with a go-ahead run in the top of the 7th inning, Isaac Richardson launched Nixon Badilla’s final pitch over the left field wall to send Houston Memorial to next Saturday’s 6A, Division 2 state championship game in Round Rock with a 2-1 win.
Richardson’s hit spoiled a gutty effort from Badilla, who saved the Tigers’ 3-2 win the night before to force Saturday’s deciding game. The Dripping Springs lefty allowed just 3 hits while striking out 5. He retired Ethan Baylis on a grounder to open the bottom of the 7th before Richardson drove his next pitch for the walk-off home run.
The Tigers (32-16-1) took a quick 1-0 lead by manufacturing a run in the top of the 1st. Sam Branyon beat out an infield hit, moved up on Pardue’s bunt, took 3rd on a wild pitch, and scored when the Mustangs forgot about him after Cruz McBride walked and broke for 2nd as part of a double steal.
Memorial tied it in the 2nd. Baylis doubled when McBride lost his fly ball in the sun, took 3rd on Richardson’s bunt, and scored on a wild pitch.
Badilla and the Memorial tandem of Ben Fuqua and Jack Byrd matched scoreless innings until the final swing.
It’s the second straight season the Tigers have lost in a winner-take-all game in the state semifinals by a single run. Last season, Kingwood won the deciding game 6-5. Kingwood went on to win the state championship.
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