It was over almost before it started.
Moody and Calallen, the No. 1 and 2 ranked teams in the country, were tied at one game apiece in their Region 4 championship series setting up a winner-take-all game on Saturday for the right to move on to the Texas 4A state tournament and claim to the No. 1 ranking in the country.
In front of packed house of nearly 9,000 fans, the Moody Trojans took all of the mystery out of Saturday’s finale with an explosive first inning and an even better third frame.
Moody scored four runs in the bottom of the first inning, knocking Calallen starter Adam Hoelscher out of the game without recording an out. The Trojans added six more runs in the third and went on to claim a 14-4 victory at Whataburger Field in Corpus Christi.
Moody (36-3) advances to the state tournament, which begins Wednesday at 4 p.m. on Dell Diamond in Round Rock. Calallen, last year’s 4A state champion, ends its season with a 35-5 record.
The three-game series captivated the city of Corpus Christi over the past three days with huge sellout crowds camping out overnight for tickets to a once-in-a-lifetime matchup between the top two ranked teams in the country. Over 26,000 fans reportedly witnessed the three-game series, according to the Caller Times
Moody won the first game on Thursday, 6-3, while Calallen came back to win game two 6-2, despite losing ace starter Jordan John early in the game with a sore elbow. That set the stage for Saturday morning’s rubber game.
On just two days rest, game one starter Justin Meza took to the mound for Moody and was sharp from the start. He struck out two batters in the first inning and then fanned the side in the second.
Meanwhile the Moody offense was relentless. Christian Garza-Gallegos led off the bottom of the first with a basehit and Marcus Villanueva followed with a single. Rudy Flores, who had a monster game, drove everyone home with a home run to right field.
Meza kept the attack going with a basehit and Matt Franco singled to left, chasing Hoelscher from the mound with five straight hits allowed and no outs. After Travis Neslony replaced Hoelscher, Moody worked a sacrifice and a sacrifice fly to move ahead 4-0.
Although Calallen closed the gap in the top of the third on a two-run homer by Matt Garza, Moody lengthened its lead with six runs in the bottom half of the inning.
Franco hit a solo shot to left field with one out and Randy Rodriguez followed with a basehit. After a walk to Geraldo Gutierrez, A.J. Longoria singled to plate Franco.
Calallen changed pitchers, moving Wyatt Mathisen to the mound, but Garza-Gallegos kept the onslaught going for Moody with a basehit to score a run. Villanueva added a two-run single and Flores capped the inning with an RBI triple.
Calallen cut the game to 10-4 in the top of the fourth on an RBI triple by Brett Bell, who scored the second run of the inning on a throwing error.
But Moody added another run in the bottom of the fourth and ended the game via the 10-run mercy rule in the fifth with a three run rally for a 14-4 win.
Flores got the first run of the fifth inning when he doubled home Garza-Gallegos, who had singled. Meza, the game’s winning pitcher, ended the game with a two-run single to centerfield.
Game one seesawed back and forth in the early innings with Moody grabbing the early lead when Garza-Gallegos walked and eventually scored on a wild pitch.
Calallen went up 3-1 in the third on a two-run single by Mathisen and an RBI basehit by starting pitcher Rob Zastryzny.
Moody answered in the bottom of the inning, however, with an RBI triple by Meza, a run-scoring double by Michael Franco and an RBI single by Rodriguez for a 4-3 lead.
Moody tacked on two runs in the bottom of the fourth on an error and an RBI single by Meza.
Meza picked up his 14th win of the season (14-1) while striking out four and allowing just one earned run in a complete game win. Zastryzny took the loss, striking out seven in the process. Of the six runs Zastryzny allowed, none were earned.
Calallen bounced back to win game two 6-2 on the arm of sophomore reliever Nick Ginn, who gave up just two runs in four and a third innings after being pressed into action in the third. When John, 13-0 on the season, began feeling soreness in his elbow, Calallen coach Steve Chapman signaled for his sophomore pitcher (who is 8-0 on the season) to fill in the rest of the way. John was cruising at the time, giving up no runs on no hits with five strikeouts in two and two-thirds innings.
The Calallen offensive struck early in game two, getting two runs in the first on a two-run double by Mathisen and then two more on an RBI single by Jacob Hubert and a fielder’s choice.
Although Franco doubled home a run and Rodriguez drove in another in the fourth for Moody, Calallen added insurance runs in the sixth when Dustin Vaughan tripled to lead off the sixth and scored on a groundball out. Garza added the other run when he singled and eventually stole home.
Ginn got the victory while Andrew Cantu (14-1) suffered his first loss of the season for Moody.
