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 win their first-ever postseason games 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 Herbert.
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 athlete 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.”
For the baseball program, its 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.
Tyler Bielamowicz led off the game with a single and went to second on a sacrifice before Skeffington hit Elijah MacNamee. Garrett Herrman 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 Herbert, 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 baserunner past second base.
“It was the biggest game of the season and I knew I had to come out with my best,” Herbert 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, Herbert struck out Trip White while Grant 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 head 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.”
angel.verdejo@chron.com
