It wasn’t how they drew it up, but they’ll take it.

With runners at first and third with two out in the bottom of the eighth inning of Saturday’s Regional Quarterfinal game, and the score tied 0-0, Hutto pitcher Eythan Lenz balked on a pickoff attempt to first base, allowing Cavalier Kevin Conroy to score the winning run from third.

The 1-0 extra innings win means Lake Travis will advance and get a rematch with Corpus Christi Calallen in the regional semifinals, which Lake Travis lost last season in two games.

The Cavaliers got eight scoreless innings from pitchers Brad Kuntz and Dylan Mendoza, who held the Hippos to just two hits.

Lake Travis set up the big inning with one out when Conroy singled to left field to lead off the frame, and Cody Gruber followed with a single to left, as well, putting runners at first and second. Kuntz flew out to deep right, allowing Conroy to tag up, and with Andy Holt at the plate in a 0-1 count, Lenz balked.

“I didn’t really notice at first,” Holt said. “The umpire behind me called time, and then I realized it was a balk. My mind just kind of froze. I just remember thinking, ‘I’m happy we won, but that just ruined my moment.’ The next second, I knew it didn’t matter. I’ll take a win any day, and I’ll take it in any way.”

Conroy shared the disbelief.

“I wanted to make sure that I didn’t go home too early,” he laughed. “I was pretty surprised.”

Lake Travis head coach Roy Kinnan couldn’t believe it, either, but he had a hunch about what happened.

“I think [Hutto] felt like they had our steal sign, and we tend to run on first and third a lot of the time,” he said. “I had told Cody [Gruber] to take a big lead, reminded him that he wasn’t going anywhere, but he was there to make them think about him. He threw a few fakes at them, and well, then it happened.”

The game didn’t come without its fair share of scares for Lake Travis, with the biggest threat coming in the top of the seventh inning. Hutto’s Brett Higginbotham doubled off of Kuntz to start the inning, and Kinnan wasted no time going to Mendoza.

“I was a little worried, but I knew Dylan could shut the door,” Kuntz said.

It didn’t mean tensions weren’t high, but Mendoza had a plan of attack.

“My mindset is that with a runner at second with nobody out, they’re going to try to bunt the guy over,” he said. “And I’ve realized all year long that every single guy will try to bunt a curveball.”

That’s exactly what Hutto tried to do.

“He tried, and he bunted it right back to me in the air,” Mendoza laughed. “I felt like their momentum stopped right after that, all I needed was a couple outs and that was all she wrote.”

A groundout and a strikeout later, the Cavs were out of the biggest trouble they’d been in all game.

Now, the Cavaliers turn their attention to a Calallen squad that’s been on of the best in the state for a decade now.

“You look at the teams on paper, and we match up well. We matched up well last year,” Kinnan said. “We left runners in scoring position in four out of seven innings in the first game, we had three catching errors in one inning after having maybe two on the year, and unfortunately, that’s just baseball. That’s part of the game.”

The players share the optimism.

“To a point, I feel like there’s a sense that we need some revenge, but we’re here to take it one game at a time and see where it goes from there,” Mendoza said. “I don’t think they’re the overpowering team that they normally are, where there’s a ton of power and a ton of speed. I think their strength is pitching, for sure.”

The No. 2 Wildcats are 29-1 this season, with their only loss coming to cross town rival Moody, ranked No. 1 in the state. They topped Edcouch-Elisa, Corpus Christi Ray and Alice to get to the Region IV Semifinal.

The series will be best-of-three.

Game one will be Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Lake Travis. Game two will be Saturday at 4 p.m. at Calallen, and game three will be played 30 minutes afterward, if necessary.

The winner will play the winner of the Corpus Christi Moody – Alamo Heights series, which will also bebest-of-three.

Adding one more twist to an already crazy playoffs, Calallen was under investigation for using an ineligible player at press time. The University Interscholastic League was set to meet on Wednesday afternoon at 1:05 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to determine whether the Wildcats would be allowed to continue, or whether Alice would take their place.