World Series Recap

Greetings All,

Well, I am back and the sunburn is still fresh. So are the memories of a great week of Mustang baseball.

Here is the recap:

Game one (Pool play) -- In the first game of pool play, the Mustangs defeated/run-ruled the Montgomery, AL Saints, 12-0. The Saints defeated the Mustangs last season in Dallas and advanced to the HWS in Pensacola. This year was quite a different story. It was as impressive a game as we played all season. Bats were electric, as was Zig's arm, and Foxy behind the plate. Zig struck out 11 and went the distance.

Game two (Pool play) -- The Mustangs rallied to defeat the SW Dallas Spartans, 6-5, to win their pool. The game was the morning after the emotional and thrilling start vs. Montgomery. The Spartans scored three to take a 3-0 lead in the first, and Mustangs were left scratching and clawing all day to get back. The Mustangs finally drew even at 5-5 in the bottom of the 6th. In the 7th, Sauce knocked in Foxy as the Mustangs won in walk-off fashion.

Game three (Qualifying game) -- In the qualifying round, the 5th seeded Mustangs faced the 12-seed HCYA Eagles and their ace, Brodie Brown. It was a difficult day for the Mustangs in all phases. For the Eagles, Brodie was outstanding all day and pitched 6-2/3. The Eagles pitched and hit the ball extremely well and made some key defensive plays on their way to the 12-2 victory. The Eagles played extremely well at the HWS and went on to a 4th-place finish in the Platinum Division.

Game four (First Round of Gold Division play) -- On the night after the difficult loss to HCYA, the Mustangs rallied to defeat the Centex Chargers, 9-8, in the last inning. To be more specific, the Mustangs scored 7 runs after two outs in the last (6th) inning to defeat the Chargers in what is now known as the "Centex Miracle". I'll have a separate post coming up on this game, which was a real highlight of our trip and the entire tournament.

Game five (Semifinals of Gold Division play) -- The Mustangs again trailed as their game vs. the Baton Rouge (CHEF), La. Patriots headed into the late stages. The Patriots led the Mustangs, 1-0, as the Mustangs came to bat in the top of the 5th. Truett gave a second strong pitching performance of the week to keep the Mustangs close and set up the rally. And then, the Mustangs then broke the pinata with their bats and scored 17 runs in the top of the 5th to win, 17-1, and advance to the Gold Division Championship.

Game six (Gold Division Championship) -- The Mustangs faced a traditional HWSA power, the Huntsville, AL Falcons, in the championship game. The Falcons had advanced to Pensacola 7 of the previous 10 years under the prior format and had a fine team and pitching staff in Auburndale this year. It was a well-played and great game, with the Falcons prevailing, 5-2 . The Falcons made the game's only error, and the hits were about even. However, the Falcons ace pitched a complete game gem. Once again, the Mustangs mounted a late rally, scoring once in the 6th and having the tying run on deck in the 7th.

Final standings -- The Mustangs went 4-2 in Florida and finished second in the Gold Division, or 10th nationally. They did this without any seniors, as well (of the 23 participating teams in Auburndale, only Baton Rouge had no seniors.) The Mustangs trailed in three of the games they ultimately won. In fact, the Mustangs trailed in the 5th inning or later in all three of their comeback wins.

The Mustang Nation was loud and out in force. Thank you, fans.

Once again, the Mustangs showed tremendous heart and played some of their best baseball in HWSA competition, setting the stage for an exciting 2011.

I am working on it already.

Most significantly, we received some special feedback about our team and program that I look forward to sharing with you all at our party on May 24. We will celebrate this great season right.

I will have some pictures from Florida coming soon, so check back.