Varsity baseball starts season with 3 wins, 2 losses

By Alonzo Garza
POST-REGISTER

The Lockhart Lion Varsity baseball team began their 2007 season last week playing a total of five games. The Lions won three and lost two of the five games. The first game they played was on Tuesday, Feb. 20. The Varsity Lion Roster included Seniors Dennis Ortiz, Michael Schulle, Josh Hazelett, Landon Buckner, Michael Rodriguez, Dus

tin Garza and Marcus Officer, Juniors A.J. Crider, Stephen Crider, Jimmy Mendez, Casey Butler, Clayton Shafer, Jordon Delgado and Kody Zimmerhanzel, sophomores Jacob Castillo and Mathew Gallaway.
On Tuesday, Feb. 20 the Varsity Lions played against Austin Crockett High School and won 7-1. It was almost too easy and it may have given the Varsity team a false sense of security going into the upcoming tournament. Schulle pitched four innings, striking out seven batters. Mendez came in to mop up in relief. The extra base hits came from S. Crider with a double. Hazelett had two RBIs.
On Thursday, Feb. 22 the Varsity Lions started their Lockhart Lion Invitational Tournament. The first game of the tournament for the Varsity Lions ended in a clear victory. The Eagles never got off the ground and the Lions kept plucking away. The Lions fried the Luling Eagles with an outstanding score of 17-1. The winning pitcher for the night was A. J. Crider. Standouts in the game were Gallaway with two hits including a home run and four RBIs, S. Crider with a double and two RBIs, Castillo with two RBIs, A.J. Crider with a double, Ortiz with two hits with a double and two RBIs and Hazelett with two hits and one RBI.
The Lions failed to keep the momentum going with second game in the tournament. They ran into tough opposition against St. Stephens and ended their game with a loss of 8-2.
Castillo was the starting pitcher with Buckner and Mendez in relief. The Lions were off and it cost them dearly. They were plagued with six errors in the game resulting in six unearned runs. The standouts in the game were Castillo with a double and Zimmerhanzel with two hits.
The morning started out a bit overcast with a few drops of drizzle and rain for mere moments at a time on Saturday, Feb. 24, but it didn’t take long for the sun to smile upon the Lockhart Lion Baseball Field and clear the clouds away. The day turned out to be perfect for baseball and the Varsity Lions were ready to play at 9 a.m.
The third game in the tournament had the Lions fighting for their lives and a chance to move on. The Lions beat St. Michaels and the game was won, but barely. The final score was 4-3. A.J. Crider was the starting pitcher with six strikeouts. Schulle was relieving one and two third innings with four strikeouts and picking up the win. Standouts were Castillo with two hits including a triple and Ortiz with two hits. Gallaway had two hits including a triple, scoring the winning run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Officer helped out when he singled to right driving Gallaway in and winning the game. It was an exciting end to a tight game.
The fourth and last game for the Varsity Lions started at 2 p.m. They were going against the Seguin Matadors. The day turned out to be absolutely beautiful for baseball or any other sport for that matter. The Lions had the game in the bag, so to speak. All they had to do was stay focused and finish the game off. Unfortunately, it wasn’t meant to be. It was a heartbreaking 7-5 loss for the Lions. The hardest thing to deal with was the fact that the Lions were leading 5-1 when the Matadors came up to bat for the last time. Schulle was the starting pitcher. He ended with eleven strikeouts. Mendez came in to relieve him toward the end. The Lions committed four grave errors in one inning resulting in four unearned runs and essentially giving the Matadors the win. Standouts were Hazelett who singled with one RBI, S. Crider singled with two RBIs and Garza singled with one RBI.
The Lockhart Lion Invitational Tournament ended with Seguin beating the Pflugerville JV team 11-0 and winning the Championship Game.
I want to personally thank Leon Gallaway for supplying me with the tournament stats and highlights. I could not have filed this report without his help. See you at the game.
agarza@post-register.com