By Tyler Mayforth
Daily Record Sports
Buda —
Team character isn’t revealed through wins and losses, but measured in resiliency.
When San Marcos traveled to Rebel Field to battle Hays Tuesday night, the Rattlers brought with them years of frustration at the hands of the Rebels. Wins haven’t come easy against Hays, as the Rebels always held the upper hand in the rivalry.
San Marcos, more importantly, Blake Bagley, needed to push its last loss at Rebel Field out of its mind. Hays beat up the Rattlers, 10-4, and took Bagley deep four times in 2009.
Bagley took the mound again a year later and this time, wasn’t intimidated. The senior right-hander stood tall and guided San Marcos to a 3-2 win.
“Last year, I left some balls up and they hit them, but I felt like I didn’t make a whole bunch of mistakes and hit my spots tonight,” Bagley said. “I was trying to focus on one pitch at a time, one batter at a time and one inning at a time.”
Bagley had plenty of pitches on which to focus. He tossed an assortment of fastballs, change-ups and curveballs 123 times at the Rebels.
Hays looked overmatched to begin the game, striking out five times in the first three innings, but still held a 1-0 lead. The Rebels profited from San Marcos catcher Tyler Till’s inability to handle Bagley’s dirt-diving breaking ball.
Three curveballs snuck by Till in the first inning which allowed Anthony Pesina, who reached base on a dropped third strike, to advance to third and later score on a double by Justin Heath. The Rattlers answered with a run in the third and Isiah Cantu put them ahead with a mammoth home run an inning later.
“Isiah’s been hitting the ball well for us these past few ball games, so we moved him higher in the lineup,” San Marcos head coach Bryan Webb said. “That was a clutch hit from him tonight. He’s a senior doing what he’s supposed to do for us.”
While Cantu gave the Rattlers the edge, it was Bagley who kept them on the brink of a victory.
Bagley didn’t have the best pitching line against the Rebels but was effectively wild. He walked seven batters in six innings, but scattered six hits and struck out 13 batters.
Although five of Bagley’s walks occurred in the fifth and sixth innings, Hays was unable to put more than a single run across the plate.
“He got deep in his count later in the game and kind of struggled a little bit but he’s a warrior on the mound and wanted the ball,” Webb said. “We’ve been burned before when we pulled him, so tonight I let him stay out there and get this one for us.”
Webb pulled Bagley in the bottom of the seventh, but the senior had his hand in the final out. Ryan Schweers induced Rebels starting pitcher Sam Breyfogle into a ground out to shortstop EJ Alva, who calmly tossed it to Bagley at first.
Once Bagley squeezed the ball, the Rattlers exploded in cheers and raced out of the dugout. San Marcos celebrated like it just won a district championship, but know a big win against Hays is one step in the process.
“We’ve been waiting a while for this one,” Webb said. “It’s a big win for our program. We had to get over this hump and to do it in a game like this and in an atmosphere like this, makes it a bit more special.”
