Dublin’s longest baseball playoff run ends against Brock Eagles

BY RUSSELL HUFFMAN
TheFlashToday.com

Brock pitching ace Jase Lopez tossed 76 pitches for 51 strikes allowing just six hits by Dublin as the Lions bowed out of the playoffs in a five-inning run-ruled game 15-2 at Weatherford Junior College Friday night.

Despite the disappoint of a loss the Lions can look back on their school’s first-ever area championship as they have made their mark in Dublin High School baseball history.  In short, the 2018 Lions have set the bar by which future teams will be compared.

Against the Eagles, things went south in a hurry for Dubin as a pair of early errors helped propel Brock to a 7-0 lead after scoring two first-inning runs and then tacking on five more in the second.

To the Lions credit, they never gave up even when they were flat on their stomachs.

The Lions responded in their half of the second inning with Keith Wright and Rayce Jackson popping back-to-back singles. Blaize Leatherwood drove home Wright from third base on a groundout to make it 7-1.

Brock tagged on four more runs in the top of the third inning and again the Lions responded but it was becoming a case of a too little too late for Dublin.

Working against two outs Josh Hanes singled and Tim Teten helped his pitching efforts with a single to score Hanes for an 11-2 tally on the scoreboard. Teten went 93 pitches and recorded seven strikeouts as he battled against a tough Eagle batting lineup giving up nine hits.

Dublin was short-handed on the mound with Hanes hampered by an elbow injury that left him able to play shortstop but not throw pitches. Jacob Shubert and Wright both pitched in relief with 25 and 28 pitches thrown each allowing a pair of runs each.

“I can’t say enough about the way these guys turned around their season from a 1-8 start to making it to the third round of the playoffs,” Coach Kellen Cervetto said. “They could have quit but they didn’t not for one second. I’m proud of our seniors and I’m proud of our entire and the backing we received from our community.”

Dublin finishes out the year as a .500 team with a 12-12 overall record that includes bi-district and area titles. Check out The Flash Today photos by Russell Huffman and game statistics.