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Coming out of a forward stance, Sterling Woodley ’26 relaxes after a strike. The catcher held the ball as Westwood amassed another strike, but Woodley made a comeback, scoring the Warriors another point.
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Stepping onto the base, Sterling Woodley ’26 runs to second base after a successful hit from the current Westwood hitter. During the third inning, Woodley went on to run and score a point for Westwood.
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Preparing to drop his bat, Andrew Tanis ’27 readies himself to run to first base after a successful hit. Tanis was consistent with his strong hits during the game.
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Leaning forward, Joaquin Garcia ’26 reaches to hit the ball. Garcia was a key player in this game, scoring points in almost every inning for the Warriors.
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Running, Joaquin Garcia ’26 shouts as he completes his home run while Carter Vaculik ’27 watches. Garcia’s home run raised the Warriors’ energy to unprecedented levels, increasing both the team’s morale and score. “When I was running, I was just hoping they didn’t throw ball and that I would get tagged out because that would be heartbreaking,” Garcia said.
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Holding the ball, Collin Potts ’27 prepares to throw the ball back to the pitcher. Potts played strong defense during he match, garnering outs for the opponent.
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Looking at Pflugerville players, Carter Vaculik ’27 plays defense as he spots the ball hit by the opponent. Along with a strong defensive play, Vaculik shined in offensive plays during the game.
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Crouching down, Sterling Woodsley ’26 prepares to sprint to the next base. During the third inning, Woodsley wowed the crowd with consistent runs.
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In a landslide victory, JV Orange baseball crushed the Pflugerville Panthers 15-1 on Saturday, March 9. Competing on their home field, the game ran for four and a half innings before the mercy rule, showing the JV team’s power to fight through the cold and maintain dominance.
“The weather always plays a factor but its really important to make sure that we play consistent and not get too high and too low,” JV Orange Head Coach Joey Hart said. “So when it has adverse conditions, we’re just used to playing an even field.”
Starting on defense, the Warriors began the game slow, assessing their opponent, they ended the first inning in a tie at zero. However, they quickly picked up the pace in the bottom of the second with a strong hit from Joaquin Garcia ‘26 that net the Warriors a run batted in (RBI) and a 1-0 lead. Another hit from Carter Vaculik ‘27 brought Garcia home and put the Warriors up to 3-0. Despite a few strikes, the Warriors were making their lead. With the bases loaded, Owen Kearsey ‘27 hit a pop fly into the outfield that the Panthers turned into a double play, kicking the Warriors into the third inning.
“I think everyone was a little tired and not really ready for an evening game,” Ben Gant ‘27 said. “But after the first inning, when we went straight three up three down, I think they really just got mentally prepared for the game.”
At the top of the third with a Warrior at the mound, Pflugerville had a short bout of at bats with only one runner making it to a base. A series of singles from the Warriors brought them up 4-0 on the game as Collin Potts ‘27 took second soon after. Further crushing Pflugerville, four balls gave Gant first base and another hit from Andrew Tanis ‘27 netted the Warriors another RBI and put Gant on second base. Soon after a few more hits and another RBI for the Warriors, a home run from Garcia elicited cheers from the dugout and stands alike and brought the Warriors to 5-0 in the third inning alone and 8-0 overall. However, they weren’t done yet; with a fifth hit from the Warriors, Reece Cheng ‘27 slid into home base and brought Westwood 9-0. But soon after the Warriors scored 12th point of the game, the Panthers finally struck out Tanis and ended the third inning 12-0 for the Warriors.
“It felt really good, just coming around third base, seeing coach giving me the sign to head home,” Garcia said. “I was tired, but it felt really good by the time I got home and all my teammates were celebrating [with] me.”
The pressure was on for Pflugerville to make a comeback as Westwood was deep into the lead. Despite an early out by Vaculik, Pflugerville scored their first point of the game on a quick run that brought the game 12-1. However, the top of the fourth had a quick turnaround for Pflugerville after their run as a double play from the Warriors cut their comeback short. Despite the extreme cold weather, the Warriors were still showing up to win, beginning the bottom of the fourth with an RBI from Garcia that was followed by two more runs, but all three outs as well, ending the Warriors reign on offense. Finally, after a quick series of at bats ended the top of the fifth, the Warriors’ mercy rule kicked in, ending the game with the Warriors up 14, crushing the Panthers.
The JV Orange baseball team will take on the McNeil Mavericks on the road at McNeil High School at 7:15 p.m. on Tuesday, March 11.
