HUNTSVILLE — It took some time to get going. But Magnolia West pieced together a comeback Friday against Lake Creek that resulted in a second consecutive trip to the UIL Class 5A championship.
Trailing most of the night at Don Sanders Stadium in Game 2 of the Region III-5A championship, Magnolia West scored four times in the top of the sixth to take the lead and added some insurance in the seventh.
The Mustangs saved their ace Dawson Park for the moment as he arrived on the hill in the bottom of the sixth. The Texas State commit helped secure the final six outs as Magnolia West will defend its state title next week in Round Rock after a 10-3 win over the Lions.
“It’s pretty unbelievable to go back to Dell (Diamond) two years,” said Park, who went 2-for-5 with three RBIs and struck out three in two innings of scoreless ball. “We just have fun playing ball and it just worked out in our favor.”
Park struck out all three batters in the final inning and the celebration was on.
“It’s a great feeling,” Park said. “We did last year — dogpiles. It’s unbelievable.”
The Mustangs (26-14-1) opened up the one-out rally in the top of the sixth with an RBI single by Trey Jeanes, a bases-loaded walk by Garrett Bagwell and two runs scored on an error by Lake Creek on a throw to first as Mustangs leadoff man Park legged it out down the line. Jeanes came around, as did Cooper Wilkinson, who scored the go-ahead run.
“It took a while,” said Magnolia West coach Travis Earles, who is now 2-for-2 in his head coaching career in making it to state. “We’re blessed with a lot of depth on the mound so we could go to some different guys and they kept us in the game.”
Magnolia West, now winners of 12 straight, then added to the lead in the seventh as Caldwell McFaddin and Carson Dunaway scored on a throwing error to first by the Lions pitcher after he fielded a bouncer.
Lukas Huff then sent a shallow single to center field to bring home Cody Palacios for a four-run lead. Bagwell was then hit in the helmet by a breaking ball for a bases-loaded RBI and Park followed with a two-run single to left.
“You never expect anything crazy like that,” Earles said of the six-run outburst. “With our guys, you never count them out. They’re going to play hard until you tell us we can’t play anymore. And that’s the motto we’ve had to this point.”
It was a positive start for the Lions (30-12).
Similar to Game 1, there were plenty of possible runs for Lake Creek to score.
And the Lions did a better job converting those for an early lead.
Davis Lee put Lake Creek ahead in the bottom of the first with an RBI single and two batters later, the Lions chased Magnolia West starter Connor Bostain.
The Lions added two more in the bottom of the third.
After Magnolia West’s third baseman Cole Meredith made an unassisted double play, the Lions still managed a couple runs as Reed Newkirk hit an RBI single to center and then later scored on a wild pitch from Mustangs reliever Huff.
Lake Creek led by three runs at the midway point, but still stranded eight runners through four innings as Magnolia West’s infield ended threats in the third and fourth innings by beating Lake Creek by a half-step on throws to first.
Lake Creek senior left-hander Carson Sydnor went 5⅓ innings before getting in a bases-loaded jam in the top of the sixth. Magnolia West scored four earned runs off Sydnor as Parker Smith took over and went the rest of the way.
“Their guy did a good job keeping us off balance for a long time,” Earles said. “Our patience at the plate — we started putting the ball in play and putting some pressure on the defense, which is what we do. It just so happened to go our way. It’s a byproduct of us playing the game the right way all the time, regardless of the situation.”
Sydnor came into the outing with a 4-0 record in the playoffs with five earned runs allowed in 24⅔ innings. He struck out 24 over his four previous starts.
“I felt like everybody didn’t give up,” Park said of his team’s ability to get back in the game and take control. “It got louder and the team started coming together and working some counts. Everything fell into place.”
Magnolia West set up the sweep with an 8-1 win after a three-hour rain delay gave way to a post-midnight finish.
A year ago, Magnolia West topped Lake Creek in Game 3 of the Region III-5A championship. The Mustangs went on a week later to win the state championship. Magnolia West also reached the regional championship in 2019, but fell to Georgetown that time.
“It’s a testament to how hard our district is,” Earles said. “Our district is one of the best — I would argue the best in 5A. For that situation to come up again over and over, it just talks about how good our district is and our baseball is in this area.”
In District 21-5A this year, Lake Creek won a pair of one-run games in early April.
Lake Creek have gone at least four rounds deep in the playoffs in each of the last four years.
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