HARLETON, Texas — The scene at Mike Carter Field in Tyler on Friday afternoon was surreal. The 34-1 Harleton Wildcats baseball team only needed one win to sweep the regional final over Douglass. But they didn't just win, they dominated.
They took Game 2 with a final score of 11-2, breaking away with a combination of hot hitting and stellar defense. On the mound, they were led by their senior starting pitcher, Dylan Amstrong. He finished his day with six innings pitched and only 2 earned runs.
Armstrong has been a shining star on the mound this year after missing most of last season due to a broken collarbone. Although he was practically lights out on the mound, he wanted to give tons of credit to his defense behind him.
"God bless, thank God to my defense. They played a heck of a job," said Armstrong. "Without them, this wouldn't have happened."
On the offensive side, Harleton really turned things around in the middle innings.
Gage Shirts kicked things off with an RBI single to bring in Cam Johnson for the first run of the game. They would score two more that inning, capped off by a Braden Hopkins sacrifice fly.
However, the real dagger came a couple innings later. Carson Wallace stepped up to the plate with the bases loaded and the crowd going wild right behind him. In a pressure-filled moment, Wallace stayed cool and stepped up big time.
He lasered one into the right field gap, clearing the bases. Wallace motored around and slid in headfirst for a bases clearing triple, even doing a little dance to please the Wildcat crowd.
"The crowd was just going crazy when I stepped in the box," Wallace said. "They chanted my nickname, and I knew I just had to do my job with the bases loaded."
East Texas Baptist commit Braden Hopkins came in to close out the game in the seventh inning, like usual. Up 11-2, it was never in doubt. As the final out was recorded, the Wildcats created the celebratory dogpile by second base.
It was official: the Harleton Wildcats were going to the state tournament.
"This is pretty special. I've been waiting pretty long for this, four years," said Hopkins. "We've been a great ball team for four years and we're finally executing this year, so it's definitely something special."
On a hot and humid East Texas afternoon, a postgame victory water cooler was dumped on head coach DJ Beck. As refreshing as it may have felt, it likely felt even better after clinching a trip to the state tournament.
"This is unexplainable, it's an awesome feeling," said Beck. "It means everything because last year one of our freshman players told our seniors that we would go to Austin, and he held up to his word today."
Next up, Harleton will head to Dell Diamond in Round Rock to participate in the state semifinals on Wednesday.
However, they say the real work is just beginning. they're not going to Round Rock just to have fun. They're looking to bring that trophy back to Harleton.
"The job isn't finished," said Armstrong. "We have to focus up, stay ready and go to practice. It's time to focus and get ready to go."
The scene at Mike Carter Field in Tyler on Friday afternoon was surreal. The 34-1 Harleton Wildcats baseball team only needed one win to sweep the regional final over Douglass. But they didn't just win, they dominated.
