It wasn’t easy, and took all three games of the series, however, New Home was able to outlast Tom Bean with a dominating third game performance to advance back to the UIL Class 2A Division I state baseball championship game for a second year in a row.
The Leopards opened the state semifinals against Tomcats with a 5-1 win on Thursday at Crutcher Field on the campus of Abilene Christian University. Tom Bean didn’t go away, rallying for a 6-5 win to even the series Friday, but New Home put it all together Saturday with a dominating effort putting away the Tomcats for an 18-6 route.
“This means everything,” New Home head baseball coach Brady Webb said. “I’m so proud of these boys. This was a hard series. We played so great Thursday and we were on a high. Then we lost a tough one Friday, and we needed the guys to come in with a good approach in game three. They were able to do that and I’m so proud of the way they played. This was our goal at the beginning of the year, and we have one more to go.”
The Leopards (29-8) are now set to face Iola (26-4) in the UIL Class 2A Division I state championship at 9 a.m., Thursday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. New Home fell just short in last year’s state title game to Centerville, 6-1.
In Thursday’s opener against Tom Bean (27-4), Bransen Beckham highlighted the offense for the Leopards with a two-run double and Gabe Burkhalter drove in two runs. On the hill, Tucker Cotton handcuffed Tom Bean’s lineup, tossing six innings, allowing just one hit with six strikeouts.
On Friday, New Home was in complete control leading 5-0, only to see the Tomcats rally with six runs down the stretch to pull off the comeback and even the series. But, on Saturday, New Home had the hot bats with Beckham at it once more with a three-run double, finishing the decisive third contest with four RBIs. Tucker Watkins also tagged a two-run double and Ryder Starkey drove in a pair of runs.