Thunderducks Blast Way to Second Straight District Title

TOURNAMENT CENTRAL | JIMMY BRENNEMAN INTERVIEW | TREY SMITH INTERVIEW

MESQUITE, Texas – The Thunderducks left no doubt.

Dallas College Richland's eighth-ranked baseball team steamrolled past No. 4 Dallas College Eastfield 13-2 in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III South Central District championship Saturday.

It sends the Thunderducks (35-22) on to the NJCAA Division III World Series next Saturday through May 29 at Falcon Park in Auburn, New York.

"I've been wanting to go back all year," Richland All-American Trey Smith said after going 2 for 4 with a grand slam and two walks. "It's an awesome place, and I'm so excited to go."

Richland booked its ticket to New York with its second consecutive blowout district title win at Eastfield.

"Yeah, it's pretty sweet," Thunderducks third-year head coach Jimmy Brenneman said. "I think this year we probably faced more adversity, especially early on in the season. We didn't really get off to a really good start, and our guys just kind of grinded it out. We had some rough patches in the middle of the season, but we found a way to stay healthy, and I think we had a dugout full of guys that wanted to win."

Win and win big they did again, almost mirroring the script they wrote year ago after finishing as the Dallas Athletic Conference runner-up, only to coast through the district tournament in dominating fashion.

Jordan Owns, who went 3 for 5 with an RBI and a stolen base, gave the Thunderducks a 4-1 lead in the third inning when he singled to center to score Jhosnel Ruiz, who doubled to open the inning. Smith crushed a grand slam – his 13^th homer of the season – in the fourth, bolting the Thunderducks to an 8-1 lead.

"Jimmy told me that at-bat, 'Just focus. Shorten the stride down a little bit, and just do your thing,'" Smith said. "They brought in a new pitcher, and I got some good advice a couple weeks ago. First pitch is always going to be a fastball. Got it. Made him pay."

Richland, which scored in each of its first five innings, had 11 hits, and used a gutsy, clutch combined relief effort to capture another postseason title.

Lucas Shipman (3-2) came on in relief of Thunderducks starter Mason Posey to hold Eastfield (45-14) to two hits and two walks, while putting zeros up on the scoreboard over the second to fourth innings. Logan Sanders pitched another inning of scoreless relief, giving up a hit and two walks. Oliver Tavarez worked most of the sixth, seventh and eighth innings, giving up a run on Sebastian Palma's RBI single to center, in another lock-down effort on the mound. Jaylen Cream closed it out in the ninth, using a second web gem play from second baseman Connor Haelzle, who snagged a line shot, and turned it into a game-ending double play. Cream allowed just a walk in the three batters he faced.

Posey gave up a run on five hits and two walks in his 2 2/3 innings of work.

Richland's pitchers stranded 16 Eastfield runners, getting out of bases-loaded jams in the third, fifth and sixth innings.

"It was just insane," Smith said. "Our pitching staff hasn't been the best all year, but they really showed up. They showed up when it mattered most, and everybody started locking in. It was great to see. Our defense made some great plays out there behind the pitchers. It was awesome."

Haelzle made a falling backward catch with the bases loaded in the fifth to end the Harvester Bees' threat. Haelzle was 3 for 5 with an RBI.

After Richland scored two runs in the eighth to take a 10-run lead, Palma singled home a run in the bottom half of the inning. But Richland tacked on two more in the ninth in typical Thunderduck full-throttle mode-like fashion, and Cream closed the door to recapture the hardware.

"I feel like this week everything just kind of came full circle," Brenneman said.

Eastfield's Luke Sasser was 2 for 3 with a double and two stolen bases. Jorge Herrera went 2 for 5 with a double. Palma was 1 for 2 with three walks. Brandon Sheets was 2 for 4.

Barrett Howard had a two-run single to center to give Richland a 3-1 lead.

"It's all about getting hot at the right time," Smith said. "We weren't very good situationally throughout the year, and we kind of honed it in this past week. Everybody bought in, and it showed."