ROUND ROCK – Cypress Ranch’s football and volleyball teams started the “Year of the Mustangs.”
The baseball team finished it in grand fashion.
Capping a year in which the Mustangs saw programs record their first postseason victories and others make deep playoff runs, Cy Ranch baseball took the baton and outdid them all. The Mustangs worked the same small-ball magic that won their Class 6A state semifinal, took advantage of an Arlington Martin mistake and got a clutch pitching performance from Brent Hebert.
When it was over Saturday afternoon, the Dell Diamond scoreboard read 3-0 in favor of Cy Ranch.
“They helped make Cypress Ranch a statewide-known name,” said Gene Johnson, the school’s campus athletic coordinator and head football coach. “When we opened this school, I thought we had awesome kids that work hard, and the sky’s the limit when you have that.”
Historic season
For the baseball program, it’s the second state championship in four years. Cy Ranch beat Martin in the 2012 semifinals on the way to winning the 5A (now 6A) title.
For the school, which opened in 2008, the win puts a bow on a historic year.
The volleyball team reached the region finals. A month later, the football team played in the Division I championship game.
Boys soccer and boys basketball won playoff games for the first time, while softball went undefeated in district play and reached the region semifinals.
Mustangs reached state in track and field, wrestling, swimming, tennis and golf.
“Football, baseball – every sport has been playing good these last four years,” said Ryan Leftwich, a freshman on the 2012 team. “I love this school.”
The Mustangs (31-6) scored in the first, third and fifth innings.
Hebert leads the way
Tyler Bielamowicz led off the game with a single and went to second on a sacrifice bunt before Nick Skeffington hit Elijah MacNamee. Garrett Herrmann followed with a grounder to shortstop Grant Jones, who threw to third base to try and get the force.
Bielamowicz beat the throw, slid past the bag but got back in time, loading the bases with one out. Skeffington got Marshall Skinner to ground out, but Bielamowicz scored.
A Martin (28-6) error pushed the lead to two – Tristen Lutz misplaced a Skinner single to right, allowing MacNamee, who reached on a single, to score from first.
MacNamee, who went 2-for-2 with a walk, singled home Evans in the fifth.
It was plenty for Hebert, the game’s Most Valuable Player. He limited Martin (28-6) to five hits in five innings. He struck out two, but more importantly didn’t allow a runner past second base.
“It was the biggest game of the season, and I knew I had to come out with my best,” Hebert said. “They’re a great team, and I was ready.”
Martin’s best chance came in the fifth. With runners at the corners and no outs, Hebert struck out Trip White while Jones broke for second. Skinner, the Mustangs’ catcher, threw him out, and a flyout ended the threat.
Another double play ended Martin’s sixth.
“When we need it, it happened,” Cy Ranch coach John Pope said. “I’m a firm believer that good things come to people who work hard, and these kids have worked, and we’re reaping the benefits of it.”
