No one really knows where Eunice came from, other than that Hunter Mendell’s sudden anointing of the nickname upon Lake Travis junior Brad Kuntz was concrete from the first moment it was shouted.

“YOOOUUUUUNNNIIISSSSSS!”

It happened last season when Mendell was a senior and Kuntz was a sophomore, and you can ask anyone in the Cavalier dugout about the origin – no one has any insight.

But it has stuck, much like the left-hander has stuck to the mound this year for Lake Travis, even though that wasn’t the plan in the beginning.

Dylan Mendoza was penciled in as the opening day ace for the Cavaliers, and as best as anyone could tell, Cohl Walla would fill the second spot. And Walla didn’t necessarily struggle in that spot, so much as Kuntz was just too good to keep off the mound.

The stout southpaw is 5-1 with a 1.37 ERA and 80 strikeouts in 41 innings pitched this season, and while he’s not the right-handed power arm that may seem like the perfect complement to Mendoza, the Cavs could do a lot worse than another shut down lefty.

“I’m definitely happy about it,” Kuntz said. “I didn’t know what to expect at the beginning of the year because Walla throws really well, and Mendoza’s definitely the ace. But I’m happy with how it’s gone.”

So are the Cavs, who turned to Kuntz in a one-game regional quarterfinal, and did it with little hesitation.

“I remembered the last time Kuntz threw against Hutto, he did really well, so I had a lot of confidence in him, and figured if they needed me, I could come in and close the door,” Mendoza said.

And that’s exactly how it worked out.

Things have just had a way of working out for the Cavaliers this season, and Kuntz is just one example.

Another has to be sophomore slugger Grant Gibbs, who in his first varsity season, is hitting .548 with five home runs and 29 RBI in the clean up spot behind Walla.

And he does it in a manner that appears to be that of a boy determined to hit a ball to the moon with each swing.

“I don’t know so much that he’s trying to jack it out, so much as he attacks the ball,” Kinnan said. “He does not get cheated with his cuts, and when you’ve got that, you know he’s got a chance to drive the ball.”

The swing goes way back, according to the sophomore.

“When I started playing baseball, I always swung hard,” Gibbs said. “My dad would always say, ‘Swing hard in case you hit it.’ And that’s what I try to do. I try to square it up and it’s been working lately.”

Has it ever.

Gibbs is slugging a ridiculous .904 with an OBP of .616.

“Part of it is confidence in himself and his work ethic because he works awfully hard,” Kinnan said. “He spends weekends working and taking extra swings, and he’s accepting his role.”

If Lake Travis pulls off the upset this weekend, it’s likely that the two biggest surprises of the year will have played their roles perfectly.