As he lifted his leg before throwing a fastball, eyes trained on the batter, he heard his middle outfield yelling “runner.”
In an instant, he turned and threw to second base player sophomore Diego Hernandez to tag out the third player who had tried to run on him during the game against Birdville High School.
“Whenever I saw him running, I just went back to the fundamentals that I know which is like catch the ball, set your feet, throw the ball hard,” senior pitcher Isaac Florez said. “I saw how far he was, and I instantly knew: he’s gone, he’s out, not even close. I started walking off the field because I knew he was out before the ball even hit second.”
Throughout the 2024 season, varsity ranger baseball players said they had many highlights from the season and look forward to ending their season strong.
Throughout his 15-year career, pitcher Noah Young said even with the challenges he faces of trying to keep his arm healthy, he stays motivated and still wishes to play in college and hopefully professionally.
“When I was growing up, it was a sport that I just fell in love with,” Young said. “I haven’t gotten any offers yet, but I have been talking to a college coach at Howard Payne University.”
During his first year on varsity, freshman Colton Gallardo said going into the next level of a sport can be challenging, he said he has improved this year.
“I’m hitting and pitching pretty good,” Gallardo said. “I have 18-20 hits and about 16 strikeouts. The competition is a lot better facing older people.”
The overall varsity team record for the 2023-2024 season is 8-12-2. Their highest-scoring game was a tournament on Feb. 22, against Abilene Copper High School with a score of 10-8.
The last district game of the season is slated for Friday, April 26, 7 p.m. at Boswell High School.
