Tomball defeats Moody for first Texas Class 4A state baseball crown

ROUND ROCK, Texas – Robert Dugger claims his preparation for the University Interscholastic League Class 4A state championship game was no different than for any other.

But that's a pretty tough sell, based on the way the senior performed in the Tomball (Texas) 6-1 victory over Moody (Corpus Christi) Friday night at Dell Diamond.

On the mound, Dugger pitched a complete game, scattering six hits, walking one, striking out four and limiting Moody to one run.

Offensively, Dugger went 3-for-4 with a double as well as the game's key hit, three-run inside-the-park home run in the first inning.



Little wonder the game's MVP award was in his hands afterward.

"It's all thanks to my defense,'' said Dugger. "We're state champions now and I can say it. We have the best defense in the state. The seniors on this team, we have played together a long time and we really wanted this.''

The state baseball title was the first for Tomball (35-4). In fact, this was its initial trip to the state tournament.

"Not many people get to do this,'' said Tomball coach Doug Rush. "We did it and now we want to do it again.''

It was pretty much Tomball's game to lose after erupting for four runs in the first inning, the dagger being Dugger's inside-the-park sprint that turned into a distance run by the time he reached the plate.

Moody leftfielder Brandon Cantu charged Dugger's two-out line drive and tried to make a diving catch. But the ball eluded him and bounded all the way to the left field wall.



"I'm never going to question a kid when he's going all out,'' said Joe Curiel, the coach of Moody (33-7-1). "There were still six innings to play after that.''

Dillon Menville, who had been intentionally walked, and Eric Dunbar, who delivered the first run of the game with a double, scored ahead of Dugger. A high relay throw cost the Trojans any chance of getting Dugger at the plate.

"I was surprised to see coach wave me,'' he said.

Menville made it 5-0 with an RBI single in the fifth. Anthony Lucas, who opened the inning by beating out an infield hit, scored from second.

Tomball added another run to make it 6-1 in the seventh on Dugger's third hit, a double that produced his fourth RBI. Dunbar, who opened the seventh with a double, scored easily.

Dugger got help from his defense from the start. Three batters into the game, Moody had two on with one out when third baseman Robbie Gillen started an around-the-horn double play on a grounder off the bat of cleanup hitter and losing pitcher Michael Cantu.



In the sixth, Menville ranged far to his right to block Cantu's hard-hit grounder and from his knees threw to Dugger covering first for the out. A run scored in the person of Chris Estrada who reached on a one-out double, but a big inning was averted.

The good defense continued on the final out of the sixth when second baseman Dunbar went far to his right to glove a bouncer off the bat of Ricky Gonzalez and delivered an accurate off-balance throw to first.

Estrada had three hits for Moody and scored its lone run. The loss was the first for Cantu in 13 decisions.
Curiel said his team might have been a little flat coming off a tense semifinal win over Whitehouse on Thursday, but he heaped praise on Dugger.

"He hit his spots and was throwing in the high 80s,'' the Moody coach said. "That's good pitching.''

Dugger wasn't ready to call it his best pitching performance of the season, however.

"I wasn't getting by breaking stuff over, so I relied mostly on my fastball,'' said Dugger, who improved his record to 7-2. "It wasn't my best performance, but I guess in a way it was because it was the state championship game.''