Lions are 1A State Baseball Runner-Ups

For the second consecutive year Fayetteville was ohso- close to another state baseball title.

In one of the most thrilling state title games Dell Diamond has ever hosted, Ira edged Fayetteville Thursday 7-6 in an extra-inning affair that made more twists, turns, mistakes and redemptions that any game this season.

“We came really close, we fought really hard,” said Fayetteville head coach Clint Jaeger, after his team bounced back from a 3-0 deficit to force extra innings, and then fought back from being down 7-3 in the eighth inning to get the tying run on third before Ira finally closed out the game, using three different pitchers in the final inning.

“Beating a team by 13 runs (like the Lions had done to Abbott in the state semifinals the day before) doesn’t compare to a game like this,” said Fayetteville’s Keagan Supak, who gave the Lions a strong start on the mound and later made some big plays as a catcher. “A state final game with emotions back and forth. It’s such an amazing experience on a field like this with these guys.

“It kind of sucks getting second two years in a row, but overall I am so proud of everybody this year.”

Ira (24-0) came into the game as the only team in the entire state without a loss.

But Fayetteville (18-5) was a team on a mission after losing the 2023 state title game 6-5 after rallying from five runs down.

Supak gave the Lions five dominant innings on the mound, allowing just four hits and striking out five. But several Lions errors allowed Ira to build a 3-0 lead.

Meanwhile, Ira starting pitcher Aedyn Claxton took a no-hitter into the fifth inning.

Fayetteville began their comeback when Mason Fenhaus walked to start the bottom of the fifth. Supak was hit by a pitch and they both advanced on a balk. Easton Jaeger singled home. Fenhaus and Jack Schley walked to load the bases. Chance Konvicka hit a fly to short right and Supak was thrown out trying to score on the sacrifice fly. Jaeger scored on a Ira error before the Bulldogs got out of the inning.

In the sixth, Jack Schley, Wednesday’s state semifinal starter, relieved Supak and kept the game scoreless. In the bottom half of the inning the Lions tied the game when Brody Dooley singled and was bunted to second by Kole Schmitt. Supak then hit a grounder to third, right where Dooley was racing on the basepaths. He managed to dodge the tag and the bases were loaded with one out.

Jaeger sacrifice bunted Dooley home with the tying run, but Ira got out of the inning with no more damage.

Two runners were left on that frame, part of a total of 12 runners the Lions left stranded Thursday.

Schley kept Ira scoreless in the top of the seventh, in part thanks to a base-running blunder by a Ira pinch runner, who rounded second too far after a single and was thrown out. Instead of having two on with one out, the had one on with two out and got out of the jam.

Needing only a single run on the bottom of the seventh for a walk-off win, Fayetteville’s Lawson Fritsch walked with one out, but Ira reliever Raidon Hernandez retired the other three batters he faced in the frame.

See In the top of the eighth, Ira appeared to blow the game open with six hits and four runs, including one unearned thanks to another Lions error, their fifth of the game. The Bulldogs made their third out as a runner made an illadvised attempt to score from second.

Even so, heading into the bottom of the eighth, the Ira fans were celebrating like the game was over – but their pitching staff was running on fumes.

And the Lions had one more rally in them.

With one out Fenhaus was hit by a pitch. Supak walked. Jaeger singled to load the bases. Schley was hit by a pitch to bring on Fenhaus and it was clear Ira’s Hernandez couldn’t be left on the mound anymore.

The Bulldogs brought Claxton back to the mound. He had started the game and went 5.1 innings (after closing out the semifinal the day before). He was one pitch away from his pitch limit, meaning he could complete one at-bat all the way through.

He coaxed a groundout by Konvicka, that plated Supak, but now the Lions were down to their final out.

But now Ira had to find another pitcher. They brought senior catcher Kaden Castillo, who hadn’t pitched all season.

Fritsch hit a Castillo pitch to third that was mishandled. Jaeger scored and Schley advanced to third with the potential tying run.

But Castillo was able to get a groundout to the first baseman to end the game, completing Ira’s perfect season (the fifth baseball program in Texas high school history to finish a season undefeated since 1951) - and touch off a wild celebration by the Bulldogs.

Fayetteville, meanwhile got state silver medals to match last year’s and a new state finalist trophy for their case at the school busting with recent awards.

“A lot of these guys were on the basketball team, the cross country and track teams (that all made it to state this season as well. “I’m beyond proud of everybody for the effort to become the team we were this year.”

Supak and Jake Kubala are the team’s only two seniors, so the future remains bright for a Fayetteville baseball program that was making it’s 10th straight state baseball tourney appearance this season.

“We’ve been through a lot this year so they knew what it was to fight. We gave it our all,” Clint Jaeger said. “That’s a really good team over there and they took advantage of our mistakes ... We lost a lot of players, and we went through a lot with injuries just to get back here. That was an accomplishment in itself. We’re a little let down that we didn’t finish it, but that doesn’t take away from the journey we had to get here.”