Impossible Is Just A Word

Rattlers’ baseball eyes State Championship

 

 

Dreams always seem fantastical until you start living them. This spring, a group of high school students from Mission, Texas, has shown an entire community that the impossible seems crazy until it isn’t. A year full of scrapes and bruises, early morning bullpen sessions, after-school batting practice, off-season weights and conditioning, and a gauntlet 40-plus game season comes to an end tonight in Round Rock, Texas. The Sharyland Rattlers Baseball team will become only the fifth Valley team to ever play in a Baseball State Championship Final. If they win, they’ll become the only baseball team in Rio Grande Valley history ever to accomplish the feat.

 

“It’s just great that we have the chance to do something special with each other like winning a state championship,” Rattlers’ do-it-all senior center fielder Nic Valdez said.

 

The Sharyland Rattlers baseball team punched their ticket to the UIL 5A DII State Baseball Championship for the first time in school history last Saturday afternoon after defeating the Kingwood Park Panthers in a two-game sweep, winning the decisive Game 2 by a final score of 5-2. The Rattlers overcame the Panthers in dramatic fashion after erasing a 2-0 deficit in game 1 and withstanding a late, last-gasp barrage from the Panthers to end Game 2.

 

In Game 1, the Rattlers’ comeback started when junior Diego Chapa slapped a grounder down the first base line that sent Santiago Soto home and put the Rattlers on the board in the bottom of the second. Omar Cantu followed up Chapa’s clutch hit with a monster bases-loaded double that scored freshman IJ Garza, Chapa and Santiago Balderas. Luis Balderas tacked on another run for good measure when he smacked a pop-fly to center that scored Cantu. The Rattlers have scored 5 or more runs in one inning five times this postseason.

 

 

On the mound, Senior Captain and Navarro College signee Sergio “Checo” Ibarra picked up his 10th win of the season after throwing yet another complete game, holding the Panthers to their lowest run total this postseason. After a season of absolute damage, the Rattlers’ pitching staff continued their diamond tyranny and cemented their legacy as one of the state’s best and most dominant in RGV baseball lore. The Rattlers pitching staff has a combined 1.07 ERA, and opposing hitters are only averaging a .292 OPS (On Base + Slugging percentages) against them this season.

 

“I know I have a pretty good defense behind me and we have a good offense as well. If we play our game, we know we’re gonna do good,” Ibarra said about the Rattlers’ unprecedented playoff run.

 

In Game 2, sophomore lefty phenom Emiliano “Milo” Villarreal struck out five in four innings of work. Villarreal is 6-0 this year, and thanks to his development as a capable starter, he’s become the perfect counterbalance to Ibarra’s strong right arm. Trusty senior reliever Roy Rodriguez (3 IP, 2 Ks), who closed out the Regional Final against Liberty Hill, slammed the door on the Panthers’ title hopes after escaping a bases-loaded jam in the bottom of the sixth inning and easily dispatching the first three Panthers that stepped up to the plate in the bottom of the seventh.

 

The Rattlers led from start to finish thanks to early run insurance courtesy of upperclassmen sluggers Edgar Quintanilla (2-4, 2 RBI), Navarro College signee Santiago Soto (2-2, 1 RBI, 2 walks), Santiago Balderas (2-3, 1 RBI, 1 walk), and Texas A&M Kingsville signee Nic Valdez (2-3, 2 runs scored). Plate heroics from freshman IJ Garza and all-around dominance from junior Luis Balderas (1 hit, 1 run scored) were major catalysts for the Rattlers’ early, series-clinching 5-0 lead.

 

“I want to leave a legacy as a winner,” Valdez said about the Rattlers’ historic postseason run.

 

 

The Rattlers will now face the Lucas Lovejoy Leopards (33-6-1, 14-0) in the 5A D2 State Championship game tonight at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas. The Leopards have been just as dominant as the Rattlers this spring, winning 24 of their last 26 contests, while the Rattlers have won 23 of their last 26. The Leopards are 10-1 this postseason, only suffering a 2-1 loss to Argyle in the State Semifinals. The Leopards outscored the Eagles 18-1 in the final two games of that series to advance to the State Finals against the Rattlers.

 

“It doesn’t even feel real; the fact that we’re here. Obviously it took a lot of hard work, but it’s not often a team from the Valley makes it this far. So we’re just gonna give it everything we’ve got in order to make history for the Valley. We know the type of team we have and we know we’re here for a reason. Of course there’s gonna be nerves before the game, but I think we’re going to do a good job at handling our nerves and just being prepared to go,” senior captain Valdez said.

 

The Rattlers will once again battle against some of the best pitching the state has to offer, as the Leopards boast three staunch pitchers, Logan Corley, Tyler Scarborough, and Brett Hill, in their own right. The Rattlers will be up to the challenge, and it all starts with their senior leadership.

 

“We know they’re a pretty good team. And I know they have a good lineup. It’s not gonna be easy but me and my coaches are ready for it and the other pitchers are ready for it too,” Rattlers’ pitching ace and captain Ibarra said about the state final.

 

The task at hand is the biggest they’ve ever been faced with, but the strength of their brotherhood gives them the confidence to push forward.

 

“It feels amazing to be in the position I’m in right now, getting to play with my best friends that are also my family on the last day of the season is incredible. There’s a lot of pressure in the state championship, of course, but we’re excited and ready to play,” Rattlers’ catcher and senior captain Luis “Bicho” Cienfuegos said about the team’s mentality ahead of the state title game.

 

 

Over the past four seasons, the Rattlers are 105-36-4 with three district championships and one state title berth. The Rattlers’ seniors are, without question, one of the most impressive groups of seniors to don the red and white. Their 38 wins this year are the most of Head Coach Austin Bickerton’s short tenure as the program’s head man and the program’s most since their historic 2019 campaign. Santiago Balderas, Mateo Garcia, Nic Valdez, Luis “Bicho” Cienfuegos, Roy Rodriguez, Sergio “Checo” Ibarra, Santiago Soto, and Abraham Barrera’s contributions to the Rattlers’ Program and this momentous postseason run have transformed the program forever and galvanized the entire RGV.

 

“I told them man think about all the work you put in until now; that senior class, man. They’ve done such a great job of leading the young guys and instilling in them the family and tradition Sharyland has always had. Right now they’re building their own legacies as seniors, and they’re taking it to a different level,” assistant coach Andres “Andy” Garza said about the Rattlers’ senior class.

 

Last week, the legendary group of seniors walked in their graduation as part of a special ceremony after other pressing matters (a Regional Finals Championship) prevented them from graduating with their classmates. This week, in their final moments as Sharyland Rattlers, they’ll have one more opportunity to enhance their legends and cement their greatness as one of the Lone Star State’s best when they take the field tonight at 7 pm.

 

“Just having the confidence and all the younger guys, our JV and JV light kids see we can do this at this program. We can get to the top. We can win it all at this program. It’s not a fantasy or anything like that. It can become a reality if you put in all the hard work like these kids have,” Bickerton said when explaining what a state championship would mean to the Rattlers’ program and community.