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Something about lopsided losses brings out the best in the Memorial baseball team.
While no one came out and called Friday night’s 10-run loss to Cypress Creek in Game 2 of their 5A-Region III area series a wake-up call, Memorial acted as such in Saturday’s decisive Game 3.
Jeremy Rathjen slammed the first pitch of the game for a single, the first of nine Memorial hits, the Mustangs hit three home runs and they exacted revenge on the Cougars by ousting them in a run-rule, 13-3 at breezy, hitter-friendly Morton Ranch.
DeMario Thibodeaux added a double and a two-run home run, M.P. Cokinos slammed a two-run home run to left in the fourth and Michael Ratterree finished off the rout with a two-run shot in the fifth to invoke the mercy rule.
Memorial (27-3) will play Westside in the regional semifinals next weekend. The Wolves ousted defending state champions Cy-Fair in three games, winning Game 3 3-1 Saturday.
“We came out swinging,” Thibodeaux said. “Jeremy (on the) first pitch hits a single and it was contagious for the whole team. It was just hit after hit. … Their first pitcher started off behind almost everybody (in the count) and we were getting good pitches to hit. It all was contagious.”
Friday’s shutout loss snapped a 17-game winning streak. It was Memorial’s worst loss since a 23-3 setback to Clear Creek in late February.
“What happened on the field last night … we didn’t want to come back today and end our season,” Thibodeaux said.
Anything but.
Cy Creek (19-13) coach Mike McCollum used four pitchers, pulling starter Andrew Rousseau after about five minutes, in which time he faced three runners and retired none.
Memorial batted around in the first.
After Rathjen’s single, Thibodeaux singled to straightaway center and Cokinos hit in both of them with a standup double to the center-field wall.
Daniel Neumann’s double scored courtesy runner Trip Ballard for a 3-0 lead.
Rathjen reached base on an error to lead off the second, then Thibodeaux homered for a 6-0 lead. It was his sixth home run of the season.
Held hitless for the first three innings by Memorial starter Baron Davis, Cy Creek crawled within 6-2 in the fourth on two hits, two walks and a fielder’s choice.
But Cokinos’ homer in the bottom of the inning made it 8-2, and Neumann scored on a wild pitch for a 9-2 lead.
Two walks and a fielder’s choice started the fifth. Cokinos singled to score Thibodeaux ahead of Ratterree’s blast to end it.
“When I was scoring in the last inning I just turned to Ratterree and told him to hit it in the air. He said OK and that’s what he did,” Thibodeaux said. “And we finished it.”
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