Cardinals slug way to 19-10 win, claim state baseball title
by Dave Mundy
Friday, May 13, 2011
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WACO -- After using their brains to win one game in the state baseball tournament, the St. Paul Cardinals showed they also have a plethora of brawn.
Cody Hollenbach gets into the spirit leading the cheering in the stands. photos provided by Lori Raabe
The Cardinals roared back from an early 10-0 deficit to win a 19-10 slugfest with Rockwall Christian Friday to claim the Texas Association of Private and Parochial Schools Class 1A/2A state baseball championship. It was St. Paul’s second state title in the last three seasons.
Rockwall jumped on St. Paul starter Dustin Adamek and reliever Kyle Wallace before Blue Hybner came on and shut down the Warrior bats.
Down 10-0, St. Paul, erupted on its own by parading five runs across the plate in the bottom of the third, highlighted by a grand slam by Hybner.
Tyler Blanton started the rally with a double, advancing on a single by Dustin Adamek and scoring on Cole Hybner’s fielders-choice grounder. Brandon Sciba walked and Devin Pesek singled to load the bases, and Blue Hybner cleared them with his slam to right-center.
Everything fell apart for the Warriors in the fourth inning as St. Paul used eight hits to plate 10 runs and assume a commanding lead.
Cole Hybner’s one-out double got things going, and Sciba followed with a triple and scored on a Pesek single to cut Rockwall’s lead to 10-7.
Blue Hybner was intentionally walked and Kyle Wallace followed with a run-scoring single. Hodges brought two more runs in with a double and then Kresta’s sacrifice hit brought in a run.
A grounder by Blanton was midhandled to allow another run to score, then Adamek cleared the bases with a triple to put the Cardinals on top, 12-10. Cole Hybner followed with his second double of the inning, scoring on an error on a Sciba grounder, and Sciba got the Cardinals’ 10th run on a Pesek single.
St. Paul picked up two more runs in the fifth to make it a 17-10 game. Pesek singled, Blue Hybner was again walked intentionally and Wallace brought them both home with a single.
Jared Markham’s single led off the St. Paul sixth, and head advanced on a single by Blanton before scoring on Cole Hybner’s third double of the game. A sacrifice fly by Sciba brought Blanton home with the Cardinals’ 19th run of the game.
Blue Hybner, who’d pitched the final out of Thursday’s semifinal game, checked the Warriors over the final four and a third innings on just two hits while striking out nine.
St. Paul’s offensive explosion in the finals was a far different story from the semifinal contest against Huntsville Alpha and Omega.
State champs: Brett Hodges, Dakota Kresta, Jared Markham, Justin Natal, Mitchell McElroy, Cole Hybner, Adam Hollenbach, Laddie Patek, Asst. Coach Jonathan Pesek, Blue Hybner, Matt Baker, Devin Hybner, Tyler Blanton, Kyle Wallace, Bradon Sciba, Dustin Adamek, & Head Coach Mark Noska
The Cardinals had gotten only three hits Thursday, but used some crafty baserunning and alert defense to stop Huntsville Alpha and Omega by a 4-1 score to earn a berth in the championship game.
Both of Thursday’s semifinal games got off to a dreary start as a storm front flirted with the Waco area and set off lightning sensors just as the games got underway, forcing a weather delay of more than two hours off the 10:30 a.m. start. When play resumed at 1:05 p.m., however, neither team showed any ill effect of the lengthy interruption.
Hunter Harsh had drilled a one-out single just before the delay, and Zack Toney drilled St. Paul pitcher Cole Hybner’s first pitch following the delay to the gap in right-center field for a double. The Cardinals got out of the jam, however, when Tyler Hutchinson fouled off a squeeze-bunt attempt and then Hybner struck him out looking, then whiffed Nathan Hsaio to end the threat.
The Cardinals also threatened in the bottom half of the first as Brandon Sciba and Kyle Wallace draw walks and Devin Pesek was hit by a pitch, but Alpha Omega pitcher Toney escaped by inducing Adam Hollenbach to pop up to center field.
St. Paul chased Toney and grabbed a 2-0 lead in the second after Hybner retired the Lions in order in the top half of the inning.
Tyler Blanton dribbled a one-out single to center and advanced to second on a bad pickoff attempt. Dustin Adamek walked and both runners moved up on a passed ball. Toney plunked Hybner to load the bases, then walked Sciba to force in one run, and Pesek’s sacrifice fly plated Adamek to make it 2-0.
The Lions couldn’t get anything going against Hybner over the first four innings, thanks in part to the Cardinals’ experienced pickoff team and some snappy defense. Catcher Blue Hybner caught Justin Nelson leaning too far off second base in the third inning and trapped him in a 2-4-5 rundown, then Cole Hybner picked off Hutchinson at first base in the fourth inning following a single. Hollenbach turned in the defensive gem of the day when he made a sliding catch in left field to rob Jordan Straughan of a hit.
Adamek doubled with one out in the fourth and scored on an infield error on a sharp grounder by Cole Hybner to make it 3-0. The Cardinals had a chance to pad their lead, but Sciba was ruled out for not tagging up on another sacrifice fly by Pesek.
The Lions crafted their lone run in the fifth. Marco Pardo led off with a walk and advanced on an error on Charles Riley’s fielders-choice grounder and a single by Lane Smith. He was forced at the plate when Nelson grounded to Adamek at third, but Harsh followed with a fly ball to deep center to bring Riley home.
The Cardinals added their final tally in the sixth. Blanton drew a one-out walk and pinch runner Mitchell McElroy moved up on a walk to Adamek, then took third and scored on two passed balls.
The Lions threatened again in the seventh when Smith coaxed a one-out walk and Nelson laced a single to left, but the Hybners changed places and Blue Hybner, now pitching, retired Harsh on a fly ball to right.
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