Since late March, the Atascocita Eagles baseball team has arguably been the hottest team in 6A baseball. This past week, that trend continued against the Clear Springs Chargers.
- The Atascocita Eagles narrowly defeated Deer Park in a forced third game -
Spearheaded in large part by a no-hitter by Caleb Cannon and an offense which scorched Clear Springs pitching, the Eagles swept both games to advance to the 6A Region III semifinals.
In the first game, the Eagles offense made a statement in the early innings; after scoring a run in each of the first two innings, they exploded in the third. The Eagles scored eight runs in the frame, which was capped off by a three-run homer by Tyler Byrd.
Meanwhile, Cannon made a statement of his own in game one. Despite the fact that he faced five runners on base in the first three innings, he fought through those situations to eventually pitch a no-hitter. He retired the side in order in each of the last two innings, and thanks in large part to his no-hit performance, the Eagles won 10-0.
The second game, at Clear Springs on Friday night, was a much tighter affair. The Eagles jumped out to an early lead again in the first, but the Chargers responded with their first hit, and eventually their first lead, of the series.
The teams traded runs until the sixth inning, when with the game tied at three, the Eagles pushed six runs across. The inning was fueled in large part by home runs from Clay Bradford and Steven Cortina. They would need every one of those runs too, as the Chargers fought back with five in the last of the sixth.
However, in the seventh the Eagles held the lead and preserved the 9-8 win that put them in the regional semifinals.
This week, the Eagles will square off against the top seed from District 20-6A, Ridge Point. The winner will face the winner of Houston Lamar and Kingwood for a shot at the state tournament.
