Posted: Tue, 11 May 2010 12:14 PM - 8,080 Readers

By: Boerne Star

This was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Boerne Champion baseball team, who only returned two seniors and two starters from last year’s team.

But like Chuck Foster teams of the past, this one found a way to get to the second round of the playoffs after Champion knocked off 28-4A champ Burbank.

The Chargers completed the sweep of the Bulldogs Friday night at Spring Sports Complex with a 7-1 victory. Champion will now face Lake Travis in the second round starting Thursday in a best-of-three series.

Senior Taylor Davis said he’s not surprised this team made it to the second round.

“I wouldn’t say it’s a surprise, maybe for other people it’s a surprise, but as a team we felt this was something we could do this year,” he said. “We had a young team and we knew we were going to have to get more disciplined at the plate. We really showed that (Friday), we didn’t have the big hits like we usually do, but we manufactured the runs in a different way.”

Davis is right about that, the Chargers had 10 hits in the game and nine were singles. The only extra base knock came in the second when Luke Strieber ripped a double. The Chargers also used eight walks and a hit batter to produce runs.

The second inning was a difference maker for the Chargers who scored five runs in the frame to take control of the contest. Champion coach Chuck Foster said they were taking what the Burbank defense was giving them.

“We did a great job of doing the little things right,” he said. “We didn’t pound the ball in the gaps, but we found ways. We were patient at the plate, got the ball in play and competed.”

Strieber and the Charger defense retired the side in order in three of the first four innings. Strieber took a one-hitter into the sixth before Burbank came up with two more hits to manufacture its only run of the contest.

In the seventh, Strieber and the defense went to work. The result was the Bulldogs going down in order for the fifth time in the game.

“Luke did a great job of trusting his defense,” Foster said. “It was an all-around night of doing the little things right.”

At the plate, Blake Allemand had two singles, reached on a fielder’s choice and scored and was intentionally walked.

Taylor Davis had four singles, three RBI and scored once, Derek Tyner had a single and a walk, David Massey walked, Paul Dwyer singled, walked and scored, Strieber hit a double and his courtesy runner Chris Catlett scored, Zach Long was walked and hit by a pitch and scored two times, Mitchell Setliff walked twice and scored once, while Cody Mallory recorded a single and a walk.

Strieber only gave up three hits and two walks in the game and he struck out seven.

Game 1 : Champion 14, Burbank 5

Both teams had a rocky start to the game, but Champion settled down and played shutout ball over the last four innings to collect the 14-5 victory.

The squads combined for seven errors in the first three frames, three for Champion and four for Burbank. The rough start by the Chargers led to a 5-3 lead for the Bulldogs early in the game.

Chargers coach Chuck Foster said nerves got the better of his team, at least early on.

“I think it was playoff nerves, you could see it in their eyes and in their mannerism,” he said. “They were tight.”

After the third inning though, things changed for the Chargers. They didn’t commit an error over the last four frames and didn’t allow a run to score.

“That’s what we try to say, if you play great defense you are going to limit people,” Foster said. “When you don’t give them anything, you have a chance to win.”

Derek Tyner settled down on the mound and never faced more than four batters in the frame from the fourth inning on. Foster also said shortstop Blake Allemand was a calming influence on the team.

“I credit Blake Allemand’s leadership. He was communicating and being a good leader, he was very local,” Foster said. “Our body language changed. We settled down and played really well from that third inning on.”

While their defense struggled early, that wasn’t the case for the Champion offense. They scored three runs in the first, third, fourth and fifth frames. The Chargers concluded their scoring with two runs in the sixth and they didn’t have to bat in the seventh.

Overall, Champion came with 15 hits in the contest. Allemand hit three singles, was walked and scored twice, Taylor Davis hit an RBI double, was walked and scored twice, Tyner hit a double and reached on an error and a walk, while his courtesy runner Chris Catlett scored three times.

David Massey finished with two singles, a double, a triple, three runs scored and three RBI, Cody Mallory reached on a single and scored, while Paul Dwyer reached after getting hit by a pitch. Blake Reynolds recorded an RBI double and scored and also reached after getting hit by a pitch.

Zach Long tallied a triple and a single, scored a run and picked up three RBI, Will Patterson had two singles and two RBIs and ended up with what turned out to be the game-winning hit in the third. Hunter Free reached on an error, while Trevor Harlos was walked and scored a run.

Tyner gave up five hits, struck out eight and walked seven, but only issued two free passes over in the four innings. He threw 115 pitches and gave up just one earned run.

GAME NOTES: David Massey and Will Patterson were named the William Canavan Companies Players of the Game for Thursday’s contest with the Bulldogs. Massey hit two singles, a double and a triple, scored three runs and drove in three more, while Patterson had two singles and two RBI, including the game-winning hit in the third. Friday’s William Canavan Companies Players of the Game were Luke Strieber and Taylor Davis. Strieber threw a three-hitter and struck out seven, while only walking two and he hit a double. Davis had four singles and three RBI.

Boerne Champion vs. Lake Travis

*Game 1, Thursday, May 13, Lake Travis at Boerne Champion, 7:30 p.m.

*Game 2, Friday, May 14, Champion at Lake Travis, 7:30 p.m.

* Game 3, Saturday, May 15, Lake Travis at Champion, 2 p.m. if necessary.

Saturday's contest will be carried live on the Texas Sports Radio Network at www.tsrnsports.com

photography by Kerry Barboza