By Mike McBride, Sports Director
(San Marcos) – A bang-bang play at the plate stifled Marion’s seventh inning rally and ended the Bulldogs’ baseball season Friday night as Georgetown-Gateway Prep held on for a 4-3 win to cap a 2-0 series sweep in the 3A Region IV quarterfinals at San Marcos High School.
After dropping the first game in the best-of-three set 7-1 on Thursday, Marion was down to its final out with the bases empty in the top of the seventh and trailing by a single run in Game 2.
Gateway reliever Blake Rambush had just struck out the Bulldogs’ first two batters, but with one out separating the Gators from the regional semifinals, he lost his command and hit Cameron Luensmann and Tayler Mills with pitches to give Marion two baserunners.
Tyler Seboldt drilled a base hit up the middle, Luensmann motored around third, and the Bulldog faithful cheered wildly as Luensmann sprinted toward the plate in an effort to score the tying run.
Gateway centerfielder Chris Varljen rifled a perfect throw to his catcher Taylor Smith, who tagged a sliding Luensmann just as his hand crossed the plate. The home plate umpire called Luensmann out, dashing Marion’s hopes of forcing a third game and vaulting the Gators into the fourth round of the playoffs.
Dejected after the gut wrenching defeat, Marion head coach Tim Tesch tipped his cap to the Bulldogs for leaving everything on the field against the defending Region IV champions.
“Our motto is whatever it takes,” Tesch said. “These guys fought the whole entire game. They competed their butts off. We couldn’t ask for a better series, a better game. I know it didn’t end they way we wanted to. We outplayed them tonight, in my opinion, and all the credit goes to Gateway and Coach Broussard over there. He’s doing a great job, and good luck to them on the way. It’s one of those things. The season ends, but these guys are going to be better men because of that game.”
Marion led 1-0 in the top of the second inning after Jared Mendez led off with a double, took third on Cade Baumann’s sacrifice bunt, and came home on a wild pitch.
Gateway responded with three runs in the bottom of the second on an RBI single from Seth McAlister, a walk with the bases loaded by Rambush, and a sacrifice fly from Smith.
Noah Haese walked to lead off the fourth, stole second, took third on a balk by Gateway pitcher Noah Krieger, and sprinted home on a wild pitch to make it a 3-2 contest. The Gators used an RBI single from Rambush after McAlister reached on an infield hit to go up 4-2 in the bottom of the inning.
Marion sliced the deficit to one in the top of the sixth when Seboldt beat a throw to first for an infield single, raced to third on a Garrett Corkran hit, and scored on Haese’s sacrifice fly.
Seboldt finished 3-4 at the plate, and Corkran went 2-3. Corkran worked a complete game on the mound, allowing four Gateway runs on six hits with eight strikeouts in six innings. He retired the last six Gators he faced, striking out four, to give Marion a chance to rally in the final two frames.
Gateway’s Krieger, a freshman, was the winning pitcher, while Rambush notched the save.
The Gators capitalized on three walks, a wild pitch, and RBI singles from Ty Tilson and E.J. Sanchez to build a 3-0 lead in the first inning of Thursday’s series opener.
Garrett Rodgers scored Marion’s only run in the bottom of third after being hit by a pitch, taking second on a balk by Gateway’s Cole Johnson, going to third on Mills’ single, and coming home on a fielder’s choice grounder by Seboldt.
Mendez worked through his early command problems on the mound keep Gateway scoreless in four consecutive innings, but the Gators tacked on another run in the sixth when Tilson came home on Sanchez’s perfectly executed squeeze bunt.
Luensmann relieved Mendez in the seventh, surrendering two hits and walking three as Gateway plated three runs to break the game open.
Gateway backed up Johnson with an impeccable defensive effort that involved both routine and spectactular catches and throws, including two 6-4-3 double plays and a diving grab by Varljen in center field that robbed Haese of a hit in the fourth inning.
Tesch commended the Gators for making the necessary plays, but lamented the mistakes that kept the Bulldogs from making Game 1 more competitive.
“They flashed the leather,” the coach said. “I mean, their defense is legit. Their pitching wasn’t overpowering. The free bases, and the mistakes that we made, we gave them the game. They earnred it, but when we give them nine walks, one hit-by-pitch, we give them ten free bases, and they hit with runners in scoring position. We couldn’t. We couldn’t come up with the big hit when we needed it.”
Mills, Haese, and Mendez each went 2-3 on Thursday, but no other Bulldog had a hit in Game 1.
Friday marked the final game in the varsity baseball careers of seniors Seboldt, Corkran, Haese, Mendez, Rodgers, Luensmann, Tucker Woods, and Bobby Hinojosa. They represent the first class to play all four of their high school seasons under Tesch, who was promoted into the head coaching position before the 2013-14 school year.
“Every morning I wake up, and I get to go coach baseball, and it makes even more fun when I’m around those seniors that make the game fun,” Tesch said. “The big thing that we’ve been preaching to them, that I’ve tried to sell on them, is that baseball is a game, but it’s also more than that. It’s a way of life, and how they’re going to be. All I want to do is I just want to see them grow up and be good fathers, be good husbands, and hopefully they got that from this program.”
After sharing the District 27-3A championship with Hallettsville and advancing to the 3A Region IV quarterfinals, Marion’s final 2018 season record is 23-8.