MANVEL - Bellaire baseball coach Rocky Manuel has a knack for saying what’s on his mind. And after his team swept a doubleheader Saturday against Alvin, he didn’t mix words about how he felt his team did.

“I tell you what, we deserved it,” Manuel said. “Best team won today.”

The Cardinals beat the Yellowjackets in two straight games including rallying from a 6-1 deficit in the second game of the Region III-5A semifinal series. Bellaire will now face District 20-5A rival Westside for the regional championship and a trip to the state semifinals in Round Rock.

Bellaire (37-7) rallied with four runs in the sixth inning to win Game 2 7-6, and relied on strong pitching from Kyle Chaskin to win the finale 5-2.

“I thought the key to today that we persevered,” Manuel said. “We played with a lot of emotion and a lot of heart. We got tremendous tradition at our program, and our kids are trying to add to it. Remember, we got seven underclassmen in that field today. Our kids are doing a good job and I’m proud of them.”

In the second game, Alvin (33-6) capitalized on fielding errors by the Cardinals, which is what helped Alvin win Game 1 Friday night.

A fielding error by starting pitcher Jeffery Rohrbach to lead off the game led to a run, as third baseman Travis Snider got an RBI single to give the Jackets a 1-0 lead. In the third, a flyball that popped out of the glove of centerfielder Jarrett Higgins and a hit-by-pitch led to back-to-back RBI hits by Alvin centerfielder Chris McDonald and designated hitter Andrew Gross. A throwing error by shortstop Alex Silver opened up a three-run inning for the Jackets, giving them a 6-1 lead in the middle of the fifth.

After Bellaire got two runs in the fifth, a RBI hit from outfielder Sean Washington, a hit-by-pitch to Higgins and throwing error by Alvin first baseman Moe Giusto resulted in Bellaire erasing a 6-3 deficit. Reliever Tollar Boardman closed out Alvin in order in the seventh to get the win and force a third game.

“When you get three runs or more (in an inning), you have a good chance (of coming back),” Manuel said. “We put four runs up in the sixth inning, and that was all she wrote.”

Higgins got Bellaire going in the third game by getting a single, stealing second base and coming home on a throwing error by catcher Snider. Then in the fourth, third baseman Will McCaleb reached on a throwing error by Snider that plated a run. Two batters later, designated hitter Christopher Minifee laced a double down the left-field line, scoring two runs to give the Cards a 4-2 lead. McCaleb got another run home in the fifth with a RBI double that scored Higgins.

Meanwhile, Chaskin kept Alvin at bay, getting a complete game win while giving up only five hits, walking three and striking out four batters. His only mistake of the game came in the fourth, when designated hitter Andrew Gross bashed a pitch to deep left field for a two-run home run.

“It was an 0-and-2 pitch, and he hit it pretty far,” Chaskin said. “I didn’t want to be taken out of the game, so I beared down, bulldogged it and got it done.”

Bellaire now prepares to meet its District 20-5A rival next week. The Cardinals and Wolves split their two regular season games this year. Manuel is hoping his team can stay hot with the bats as they face a tough pitching staff.

“Is anyone pitching better than Westside?” Manuel asked. “I wish we could just flip a coin and have a 50-50 chance.”

Subscribe to this comment's feed