Calling themselves the SP3 – Southpaw Three – the trio of Lake Travis left-handed starting pitchers has effectively and consistently made opposing offenses pale.

Seniors Philip Orr and Derek Stevens, along with junior Daniel Castano, have been dominant this season for the Cavaliers squad heading to the regional semifinals to face Corpus Christi Moody for a three-game series starting Thursday.

Boasting unsightly numbers for the opposition, the three lefties have a combined 22-3 record for the Cavaliers (29-10 overall) and all sport an ERA under 2.00.

Orr leads the team with 87 strikeouts and 1.25 ERA in 67 innings pitched, Stevens is at 71 strikeouts in 61 innings with a 1.95 ERA and Castano has 62 whiffs in 55 innings with a 1.65 ERA.

“We spend all our time together because the hitters are off hitting all the time,” Orr said. “We’re always doing our workout together so we have pretty good chemistry there.”

Stevens and Orr attended Lake Travis Elementary School together and have been brothers in arms ever since. Castano joined the squad nearly two years ago now and the three have been surging forward since.

“We had the ‘high five’ last year, and the ‘southpaw three’ this year,” Castano said. “We’re best friends – we get along, we help each other out. When one of us is struggling we all know each other pretty well. We’ve been with each other two years so we know how to tell each other what we’re doing wrong and how to fix it.”

Stevens laughed when asked if the three had any secret rituals or hidden routines that helps them get ready.

All smiles standing together after a victory, the trio of lefties are very serious when it comes to their work on the mound, each reflecting the other.

“Not really, just the day-to-day stuff, the life of a pitcher,” Stevens said. “It’s awesome we’re all pretty close on and off the field, all working together and helping each other out. When one of us is struggling, if one of us has a bad game, bad inning, we know the other ones have our back – it’s just real great.”

Lake Travis has an ace closer ready to go as part of its well-rested bullpen, as the Cavs have taken their first three playoff series wins in just two games, winning all six contests by a combined score of 46-5 with four shutouts. Danny McIntyre stands ready to seal things up when called upon, with a 0.78 ERA in 27 innings and 27 strikeouts to just five walks.

“They’re all solid, all have a year of varsity experience and know what they have to do,” coach Roy Kinnan said. “They have great mental focus. It’s good to have three, most of the time those three would be No. 1’s on other peoples teams – we’re blessed having three of them.”

The three also stay in the strike zone, something the Cavalier hitters have come to know very well from scrimmaging during practice. All three are right around four strikeouts per every walk: Orr has a 87/21 split, Stevens is 71/18 and Castano is at 62/16.

Even the sizzling hot bats of Lake Travis have a hard time dealing with the dominant lefties.

“It sucks (facing them), I’ll tell you that,” said junior first baseman Baker Mayfield, who is hitting .360 with 26 RBIs. “

Mayfield said the defense can stay alert and effective with the way they work on the mound.

“It’s so much easier as a defense because hitters don’t realize – most pitchers don’t come in on you and our big three lefties – they do,” Mayfield said “It’s scary when they do it and can get their stuff down, so it makes it easy on us.”

Senior center fielder Dane Balazs, who leads the team with 16 stolen bases and is batting .333, agreed.

“It’s not fun, they know your weakness and what you can’t hit – it’s really tough to hit them,” he said. “It’s competition and they always want to strike you out.”

Numbers game

Through the season the Cavaliers have learned what type of depth they have.

The regular starting lineup, one-through-nine, are all hitting above .300 on the season with the season leaders spread around. Ryne Martinez has the team lead in batting average and is tied with Evan Yacek for most runs at 27, though four others have 20-plus runs scored.

Baker Mayfield leads the Cavs with 36 hits, just two more than Martinez and three more than Konner Frazier and Adam Yacek. The team lead in walks goes to Dane Balazs with 24 and Evan Yacek has 22. Mayfield has a club-high 14 doubles, Frazier has three triples to pace the team and four homeruns to lead the club as well. Balazs’ 16 stolen bases are one ahead of JD Wilhelm and Evan Yacek.

From the top-down, the numbers look like this through 39 games.

Evan Yacek .302, 27 R, 22 BB, 15 SB
Ryne Martinez .405, 27 R, 17 RBI, 13 SB
Grant Akroyd .333, 16 R, 22 RBI
Baker Mayfield .360, 24 R, 14 2B, 26 RBI, 9 SB
Ryan Lee .386, 17 R, 18 RBI
Adam Yacek .311, 25 R, 10 2B, 20 RBI, 13 SB
Konner Frazier .347, 3 3B, 4 HR, 26 RBI
JD Wilhelm .378, 23 R, 22 RBI, 15 SB
Dane Balazs .333, 26 R, 24 BB, 2 HR, 16 RBI, 16 SB

Junior Hanna Contreras was named defensive MVP of District 25-4A Freshman Zoe Bacon was named the pitcher of the year after the Lady Cavaliers won district their last season before moving up to Class 5A next year.

Every single starter for the Lady Cavaliers was honored on the all-district awards.

Senior Brittny Stromme, juniors Makaela Williamson and Riley Cunningham and sophomore Allison Brascom were all named first team all-district.

Junior Baylee Kuss and freshman Alyssa Dickens were honored as second team members, while junior Sarah Pannkuk made honorable mention.

The Lake Travis High School Rugby Club Team entered competitive play for the 2012 spring season of the Texas Youth Rugby Association and Texas High School Rugby Conference. Lake Travis was placed in Division II, competing against a mix of central Texas area teams as well as teams from Houston and San Antonio.

Coached by Rick Medina, Steven Ryan and Ron Nicks, the team grew to almost 30 members.

A balanced mixture of students from freshman to seniors filled out a varsity and junior varsity team.

“When the team formed in January, over half the players had never played Rugby before,” according to Ryan.

As a club team, practices were held after football, track and other school sports ended for the day. The game season started in late February and ran through the end of April with the playoffs the first weekend in May.

The Lake Travis squad started off much as a first year team would be expected to, a mix of wins and losses. Each week, the team’s skills and esprit de corps grew by leaps and bounds, culminating with qualifying as one of the four Division II schools to go to the state playoffs.

Lake Travis took the maximum allowable 23 man squad to Dallas for the championship. Kingwood High School, from just north of Houston was the teams’ opponent for the semifinal game. The Kingwood Team has been playing for several years and fielded and experienced veteran team.

Both teams started out very evenly matched, playing good heads up ball with Lake Travis scoring first. The game was 10-0 at the half, but Kingwood came back and scored after a Lake Travis field goal. The final score was Lake Travis 20, Kingwood 10 and Lake Travis in its first season of play advanced to the championship game.

For the Division II State Championship, Lake Travis faced another team from central region, defending state champs Stony Point (from Leander ISD). Stony Point fields veteran players who are strong, fast and experienced and had defeated Lake Travis during regular season play.

Each team played to their strengths and the game immediately turned into a very physical, hard hitting match. Lake Travis players, many who where seniors that had returned to Austin after game one to attend senior prom, were gaining the advantage on control of the ball and scored first with a field goal. About five minutes before the end of the first half, Lake Travis scored another field goal for a lead of 6-0.

Stony Point came out charging in the second half and early in the period a busted play turned into an on field shoving match that was a boil over from the games intensity. Stony Point came out and scored twice to take the lead 11-6. The Lake Travis squad rebounded with a great drive, but Stony Point regained the ball and drove down for a third score. While sweaty in the Dallas heat, the Cavaliers came right back and scored a critical tie to close the gap 16–11.

With about three minutes left, Stony Point scored again and then managed to hold a drive from Lake Travis that nearly crossed the goal (called a try) line. At the gun, it was Stony Point 22, Lake Travis 11.

The championship officials were quite clear at the presentation of the trophies that a second place finish in state from a first year team was exceptional and that it was what people had come to expect from Lake Travis sports programs. Then, the Lake Travis players all agreed that they would be back for the win next year.

Lake Travis demonstrated their come-from-behind ability once again, scoring six times in the bottom of the fifth en route to a 7-3 game two win over Schertz Clemens Friday at Burger Stadium to take the regional quarterfinal series.

Derek Stevens got off to a rough start in the first inning as a couple of bad pitches – leading to a double and a two-run homer – and a pickoff attempt overthrow put the Cavs in a 3-0 before their first at-bat.

Stevens settled in and had full command of the game after that first frame, and the Cavs felt it was just a matter of time before they took a lead.

“Coming out, I felt good taking the hill, a couple of bad pitches and they took advantage, and we got down 3-0,” Stevens said. “I know with this lineup we’re capable of putting runs back on the board, so I just had to go out there and throw up zeroes and keep my team in the game.”

Next up

Lake Travis (29-10) will face Corpus Christi Moody (27-3) in the regional semifinals starting Thursday.

The three game series reprises the two teams meeting in 2010, which the Cavaliers won in three games to stun then-No. 2 ranked Moody.

The series will begin 7:30 p.m. Thursday in Victoria at Victoria Riverside Stadium, then shifts to San Antonio for Game 2 Friday, 7:30 p.m. at the Northside Baseball Field No. 2 (Don Hardin Athletic Complex), with Game 3, if necessary, back in Victoria for a 1 p.m. at Riverside Stadium.

The Trojans come into this contest winners of 17 straight and the No.3 ranking in Class 4A (Lake Travis was honorable mention) after sweeping Flour Bluff in the quarterfinals behind starting pitchers Kenny Saenz (11-2) and Victor Rodela (9-1).

Win over Clemens

Ryne Martinez was 2-for-2 in the game with a triple, walk, run scored and an RBI while JD Wilhelm was 2-for-3 with two runs scored and Adam Yacek had two RBIs.

“I knew if I got on, we had people behind me,” said Wilhelm, who hits eighth. “It was easy to know I was going to get in somehow. I just had to do my part and get on.

We truly believe we can hit one-through-nine, any day, it’s just a matter of who wants to step up on that day. It’s always a thrill to see who is going to step up.”

Aggression on the bases helped force Clemens into some mistakes as the Cavs came back and took the game.

“It feels outstanding,” Lake Travis coach Roy Kinnan said. “Derek did a great job that first inning, settling down and taking care of business. We had great base running. That’s one thing we did we ran the bases well to force them to throw the ball.”

Lake Travis got a run back in the third when Wilhelm singled with a flare over shortstop and came in to score on an RBI single by Martinez.

Trailing 3-1 in the fifth, Wilhelm got things started with a one-out single and Dane Balazs followed with a single to put two on for Evan Yacek. Yacek hit a slow grounder to third base, and Balazs bearing down on second forced a quick throw that sailed into right field, allowing Wilhelm to score to make it 3-2.

Yacek continued the Cavs’ aggressive approach as he took off to steal second base with Balazs at third. The Buffaloes catcher, Garret Kizer, hesitated and finally fired a throw to second, but another bad throw went for a second error of the inning on into center field and Balazs scored to tie the game 3-3. Martinez then drew a walk and Grant Akroyd was beaned, loading the bases for cleanup hitter Baker Mayfield.

As Mayfield made contact, Evan Yacek took off for home, and there was no play at home, so the third baseman had to go to first. By the time he surveyed the options,  it looked like Mayfield was safe, but he was called out on a bang-bang play. The run on the play made it 4-3 Lake Travis, and a passed ball brought home Martinez to make it 5-3.

“We bust our tail to home, the guy can’t throw us out, so he’s got to go to one (first base) and gives us a one-run lead,” Kinnan said.

Ryan Lee walked to put two runners on for Adam Yacek, who ripped a would-be extra-base hit to right field for two RBIs, but Yacek fell rounding first to limit the hit to a single. The two-run hit gave the Cavs a commanding 7-3 lead as Stevens didn’t face more than four batters in any inning after that first frame, throwing 89 pitches over seven innings. He gave up just five hits – only two after the first – and struck out eight with no walks (two hit batters).

Lake Travis won game one easily behind a three-hit performance from Philip Orr in a 9-0 victory.

“We knew they were going to have their backs against the wall and come out fighting. Coach Kinnan stressed that,” Mayfield said. “Reality set in after they hit that long bomb, and it was 3-0 just like that. We had to realize we had to fight back and win the game so we didn’t have to play tomorrow (game three).”

Balazs went 3-for-3 with a three-run homer and Mayfield drove in two runs in the Game 1 win.

“Coming in my swing was good and I’ve been hot lately, and they threw me some pitches I could hit and I just took care of it,” Balazs said. “We all trust each other, it’s kind of a competition, who can get the most hits, you know? It’s pretty fun.”

In the early going Lake Travis was attacking the first pitch it saw from Clemens starter Lincoln Baylor, but that resulted in numerous first-pitch outs from the Cavs.

The team stayed back a bit in the fifth, forcing Baylor to throw 28 pitches with eight hitters in a row taking at least one pitch.

“We always are [aggressive], Kinnan said. “They get a pitch to hit, we tell them, ‘turn on it.’ “

There’s a lot of belief in the Cavaliers that they can get past Moody once again.

“We can go as far as we want, it’s all up to our determination,” Wilhelm said.

Added Mayfield, “I think we have the potential to go all the way. I have no doubt in my mind.”

Game 1 and Game 2 start 7:30 p.m., Game 3 at 1 p.m.

Locations and addresses of the games:

Games 1 and 3

Victoria Riverside Baseball Stadium

University of Houston-Victoria

406 Memorial Dr., Victoria, 77901

Game 2

Northside Baseball Field No. 2

Don Hardin Athletic Complex

7001 Culebra Rd., San Antonio, 78738

Setting two new school marks – both of which were set by the respective relays this season – each relay team performed as they hoped to, although they did fall short of reaching the medal stand at Mike A. Myers Stadium Friday for the UIL State Track & Field Championships.

The 4×400 relay team (or 1600 relay) placed fifth overall with a time of 3:57.16 as they beat their school-record time of 3:57.46 set previously at the regional meet this year.

The Lady Cavs 4×400 quartet of Claire Howington, Cody McCrary, Delaney Maberry and Abby Moss edged out district foe Rouse by more than a second, as the Lady Raiders came in at 3:58.75.
“We set two new school records, you can’t be dissatisfied with that no matter what place you get,” coach Randall Edwards said. “It was a premier meet and they did their best. We broke the 4×100 record five times this year. The state meet of Texas is one of the best in the nation. There’s only one other one that comes even close and that’s California.”
The 4×100 relay team of Maberry, Kia Neel, Abby Moss and Hannah Moss for Lake Travis ran a 48.63 to re-set its school record, which the relay team set earlier this season, also at the Region 4-4A meet where they came in with a time of 49.03.
McCrary will go on to run at the University of Texas, while Hannah Moss signed to run at SMU on Wednesday.
Edwards said going into the race that each relay team had its sights set on a new school record, and getting that goal made the strong season that much more special.
“I’m proud of the girls, they got after it,” Edwards said. “Some of the ladies that run track are phenomenal. I’ve worked the state meet about 20 years and you look over that period and girls are doing unbelievable things with the times they’re running.”
Looking back at the entire track season, both the boys and girls programs are headed in the right direction.
“It was kind of an enjoyable season really, the whole year we got out and competed hard, competed much better this year than last year,” Edwards said. “There was great improvement with the boys. And the state track meet was phenomenal.
“The whole team kind of liked each other, boys and girls, we cheered for one another, pulled for one another. To end it off at the state meet, it’s a big deal to get there, it’s hard to get there. That’s a good record.”

Once he did, the Lake Travis bats did the rest in a commanding 8-2 win over Smithson Valley at Concordia’s Tornado Field to win Game 2 and the area round series Saturday, giving Lake Travis coach Roy Kinnan his 580^th career win.

“We played well, we did all the little things you have to do,” Kinnan said. “Daniel didn’t have his best stuff but he did a great job hanging in and taking care of business, and we played great defense.”

Lake Travis will now play Schertz Clemens in the regional quarterfinals after it beat Vista Ridge in three games, one of the Cavs’ District 25-4A foes.

The Cavs (27-10) were sharp in the field and limited any aggression on the base paths Smithson Valley wanted to have, with Dane Balazs in particular coming up with a few laser throws from center field.

Castano had trouble locating early on and the Rangers grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the second inning.

The Cavs got some help with three walks in the top of the fourth, and Adam Yacek’s two RBI single with two outs put the Cavaliers ahead for good at 3-2. Konner Frazier added an RBI double to score Yacek and make it 4-2 with back-to-back two-out hits.

“I was trying to get kind of excited, get some adrenaline going because I’m not used to pitching early, I’m used to pitching at night,” Castano said. “I was kind of nervous at the beginning – I wasn’t pitching my best and we weren’t hitting yet, but I knew we’d come around, we’re a great hitting team. I knew we’d put runs on the board no matter what, I just had to do my job and we would win. And we did.”

The Cavs got a little help from the Rangers in the win, as Smithson Valley pitchers hit five batters and walked another four. Lake Travis took advantage, though, staying aggressive on the bases and at the plate.

“We knew we’d have a good outing from Daniel,” Yacek said. “And on the turf field (at Concordia), we knew our defense could perform well on it, and we went out and took care of business. We’ve been hitting good the past three weeks now, we know we can hit one-through-nine, everybody. We can start a rally with our 7-8-9 or our  1-2-3, all the way through the lineup we’re confident.”

With the lead, Castano sent down the Rangers in order in the bottom of the fourth. The Cavs added a run in the fifth and Castano worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom half, with some help from the arm of Balazs in center field, who held a runner at third on a single. Balazs also nailed a runner trying to go first to third on a single in the third inning – and the runner was stealing second on the pitch and Balazs’ strong throw was still in plenty of time.

“Dane made a great throw,” said Kinnan, noting the team’s defense, pitching and two-out hitting. “We’re going to be aggressive. They know we’re going to run on them, we’re going to do some extra things, that’s going to happen. That’s good ballclub over there, that’s a solid ballclub – we beat a good team today.”

Lake Travis had its bench step up throughout the season and that was no different in the area round series, with TJ Keel, Travis Schoonmaker and others contributing.

The regional quarterfinal series will be split between Converse Judson and Burger Stadium.

The series will start Thursday, with Game 1 scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the DW Rutledge/Converse Judson Baseball Complex. The Judson school district lists the field address as 9150 FM 1516 N.
Converse, TX 78109.

Game 2 will be 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Burger Center field back in Austin, and Game 3, if necessary, would be 2 p.m. Saturday back at the Converse Judson field.

The Lake Travis baseball team has outscored its first two playoff opponents 30-2, defeating both Crockett (bidistrict round) and Smithson Valley (area round) in two consecutive games.

The Cavaliers have one loss in the last two months – the district ending defeat to Cedar Park. After bouncing back to beat the Timberwolves the next day 8-5, Lake Travis hasn’t been in a close game.

Schertz Clemens defeated Vista Ridge in a three-game series, taking Game 1 5-2, losing Game 2 10-3, and winning the finale 9-3. Lake Travis beat Vista Ridge 8-0 (March 22) and 5-0 (April 13).

The Buffaloes (21-11-2) went 10-2 in district play, and had won nine in a row before the Game 2 defeat to Vista Ridge.

The Cavs are bringing back three offensive lineman and three skill positions to the starting offense as spring practice continues, while the defense will come in a little younger after graduation losses.

“Everything still needs a lot of work, but when you have leading passer, rusher and receiver coming back to go along with three returners on the offensive line that’s good,” coach Hank Carter said. “It’s a little backwards of last year where we thought we’d have to lean on defense to get the offense going. Now we have the flip side of that because we lost a lot of guys off the defense – seven starters.”

While some are switching spots this spring, the Cavs feel confident with quarterback Baker Mayfield, running back Shaun Nixon and receiver Zach Austin all coming back in 2012. Hunter Siddons, Drake Rowland and Ty Anderson are back on the O-line to help the offense keep its quick-strike consistency.

John Quinlan, Ryan Dolmanet, Tanner Volpe and Jake Adams are getting a lot of reps on the offensive line this spring and will likely be a big part of the team in the fall.

Also on the offensive side, receivers Tyler Payne, Grant Foster, Preston Dupre have looked good as has running back Romey Kelso.

“We’ve got a bunch to figure out,” Carter said. “We’re working to learn the offense and defense and remembering to play at a fast tempo, and remember to get to the football.”

On the defensive side, Brock Kenyon, Luke Hutton, Connor Shannon and Spencer Staples are back in the fold, while there are plenty of other Cavs who got some time on the field during last season ready to step in such as Hunter Streuling, Jacob Pate and Nico Escalante looking for spots on the defense.

Zach Davies, a move in from Indiana, looks strong at defensive end and Brandon Quintero is coming on at defensive tackle.

Vince Villagomez and Dean Young are among those battling for a cornerback spot, as are Nick Brooks, James Bailey and John Brewer, though there could be some shuffling between the corner and linebacker spots. Luke Hutton is moving into a linebacker spot for the 2012 season after playing rover most of 2011, and Escalante and Hagen Patterson are looking to step into that core as well.

Lake Travis still has some time before making the official leap up to Class 5A, with practices now culminating in the spring game May 25.

“We change and tweak things constantly within our program, and we’re always looking to grow and improve,” Carter said. “Some things we changed and adjusted, not necessarily because of the move to 5A. We’re just concerned about doing the best we can, not worrying about everyone else and what class we’re in. It’s nothing groundbreaking, just little things we tweak.”

Once he did, the Lake Travis bats did the rest in a commanding 8-2 win over Smithson Valley at Concordia’s Tornado Field to win Game 2 and the area round series Saturday, giving Lake Travis coach Roy Kinnan his 580^th career win.

“We played well, we did all the little things you have to do,” Kinnan said. “Daniel didn’t have his best stuff but he did a great job hanging in and taking care of business, and we played great defense.”

Lake Travis will now play Schertz Clemens in the regional quarterfinals after it beat Vista Ridge in three games, one of the Cavs’ District 25-4A foes.

The Cavs (27-10) were sharp in the field and limited any aggression on the base paths Smithson Valley wanted to have, with Dane Balazs in particular coming up with a few laser throws from center field.

Castano had trouble locating early on and the Rangers grabbed an early 2-0 lead in the second inning.

The Cavs got some help with three walks in the top of the fourth, and Adam Yacek’s two RBI single with two outs put the Cavaliers ahead for good at 3-2. Konner Frazier added an RBI double to score Yacek and make it 4-2 with back-to-back two-out hits.

“I was trying to get kind of excited, get some adrenaline going because I’m not used to pitching early, I’m used to pitching at night,” Castano said. “I was kind of nervous at the beginning – I wasn’t pitching my best and we weren’t hitting yet, but I knew we’d come around, we’re a great hitting team. I knew we’d put runs on the board no matter what, I just had to do my job and we would win. And we did.”

The Cavs got a little help from the Rangers in the win, as Smithson Valley pitchers hit five batters and walked another four. Lake Travis took advantage, though, staying aggressive on the bases and at the plate.

“We knew we’d have a good outing from Daniel,” Yacek said. “And on the turf field (at Concordia), we knew our defense could perform well on it, and we went out and took care of business. We’ve been hitting good the past three weeks now, we know we can hit one-through-nine, everybody. We can start a rally with our 7-8-9 or our  1-2-3, all the way through the lineup we’re confident.”

With the lead, Castano sent down the Rangers in order in the bottom of the fourth. The Cavs added a run in the fifth and Castano worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the bottom half, with some help from the arm of Balazs in center field, who held a runner at third on a single. Balazs also nailed a runner trying to go first to third on a single in the third inning – and the runner was stealing second on the pitch and Balazs’ strong throw was still in plenty of time.

“Dane made a great throw,” said Kinnan, noting the team’s defense, pitching and two-out hitting. “We’re going to be aggressive. They know we’re going to run on them, we’re going to do some extra things, that’s going to happen. That’s good ballclub over there, that’s a solid ballclub – we beat a good team today.”

Lake Travis had its bench step up throughout the season and that was no different in the area round series, with TJ Keel, Travis Schoonmaker and others contributing.

The regional quarterfinal series will be split between Converse Judson and Burger Stadium.

The series will start Thursday, with Game 1 scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the DW Rutledge/Converse Judson Baseball Complex. The Judson school district lists the field address as 9150 FM 1516 N.
Converse, TX 78109.

Game 2 will be 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Burger Center field back in Austin, and Game 3, if necessary, would be 2 p.m. Saturday back at the Converse Judson field.

The Cavaliers took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the second before the rain forced a delay, and Lake Travis scored two more following the break thanks to nine hits – and six errors by Smithson Valley.

“I’ve actually never been through that experience coming back, but it actually helped me, I don’t know how, but it did,” Orr said. “I felt like it was a new game coming off the rain delay, I felt fresh.”

Orr struck out 13 and was very efficient in the victory. Baker Mayfield walked twice and had two hits, as did Grant Akroyd. Akroyd, Ryan Lee and Dane Balazs all had RBIs (while JD Wilhelm scored on a triple and an error) in the win, Evan Yacek doubled and scored, and Wilhelm scored twice.

“We hit the ball well, had nine hits, but we left the bases loaded three times, had 10 runners left in scoring position,” coach Roy Kinnan said. “But our goal is to win by one … but if we have a runner at second or third we still want to get that hit.”

Game 2 is set for 11 a.m. Saturday back at Concordia, with Daniel Castano to start for the Cavs. Game 3, if necessary, would start 30 minutes after the conclusion of the second game.

“Our goal is to be 15-18 pitches an inning and check in the sixth, and we always ask Konner (Frazier) our catcher, ‘how’s he doing’ – he thinks they still got something, we’re good to go,” Kinnan said. “(Orr) said, ‘coach, I feel great.’”

On a campus where champions have been crowned all year long, the Lake Travis girls track team has seen their day finally come.
Six members of the squad will be heading to Mike Myers Stadium on the campus of the University of Texas to participate in the pinnacle of Texas high school track competition in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays Friday at the UIL State Track & Field Championships. Delaney Maberry, Kia Neel, Abby Moss and Hannah Moss will compete in the 4×100 while Claire Howington, Cody McCrary, Maberry and Abby Moss will represent their school in the 4×400 relay.
In a sport where participants train in near anonymity for just seconds of glory, it takes a special kind of athlete to have the fortitude to accomplish their goals. For McCrary, a senior who is bound for the University of Texas next fall, this Lady Cavs squad will not only be up to the task of competing against the best from Texas but also thrive on such a big stage.
“To be able to go to state is a huge thing for us,” McCrary said. “A lot of people don’t know the different aspects of track and the different levels to get to state. It’s such a different meet when you get there. Everyone is so good and the stands are crazy and it’s the best place you could run. It’s a dream come true.”
McCrary said those words while flanked by seven other members of her team. Going around the table, there was a palpable appreciation for each other and what each runner brought to the table. Each remark accompanied by nodding heads. A runner like Neel feels that the mental makeup of a relay team is critical to its success.
“To compete in track is demanding,” Neel said. “It takes a lot of training. You have to have the discipline to get to the level where you want to be at. It’s not just fun and games. We’re very serious at practice and at meets because we have our eye on the prize.”
One of the most important aspects of a relay team that can be overlooked is the hand-off of the baton between runners. Even at the Olympic level, batons can be fumbled and medal-winning opportunities slip away.
But that does not seem to be a problem for this Lady Cavs team. It goes back to the understanding that they have with each other on the track and in the middle of competition. Howington says there is a confidence that everyone will fulfill their duties.
“You’re not thinking about [dropping the baton] because once you’re off you’re just thinking about your run,” Howington said. “You don’t notice you have the baton in your hand until you’re about to hand it off. Once you’re in the zone, you’re in the zone. You don’t think about it. It’s natural.”
Much like Howington’s viewpoint on a clean baton hand-off, Maberry shares that sentiment about her races. Essentially, the sophomore speedster is all calm and composure when the time comes to lace up her spikes.
“I really don’t have a problem with getting nervous because I feel like I’m going to go out there and do my best,” Maberry said. “However I perform that’s the best I could have done that day so I really don’t let nerves get the best of my run.”
On a team that is such a close-knit group, it only makes sense that two of its members should be sisters. Together, Hannah and Abby Moss have paired up to anchor the final two legs of the 4×100 relay. As a senior, the state track meet will be Hannah’s final time in a Lake Travis uniform. One of the joys of this superb season for the elder sister has been the ability to race with her younger sister.
“Abby and I say that whenever we have a handoff we have a connection since we’re sisters,” Hannah said. “I love competing with her and I’m going to miss her a lot next year.”
For the younger Moss, training this season with Hannah has brought out some of her best running.
“We’ve always trained together so I always get better with my sister,” Abby said. “She really pushes me to do my best.”
The Lady Cavs will run both relays Friday, with the Class 4A girls 4×100 race scheduled to start at 6 p.m., and the 4×400 is set to begin at 9:05 p.m. at Mike A. Myers Stadium.