Baseball: The Battle of the Alamo is Finished

The Canyon Lake Hawks lost their seventh game in a row last Friday night at the Hawks diamond against 5A foe San Antonio Reagan Rattlers, 9-5.

The Alamo and Texas Independence was talked about in our last article, but the similarities continue in a season that has had the Hawks facing teams that have over 30 players on the bench. Compare that to the Hawks who have brought many of their players up from the Junior Varsity just to field enough players.

Mexican army, finished off the Texans and left no one standing 175 years ago at the Alamo on March 6th.

During the next seven weeks Sam Houston avoided the Mexican army as he trained his army and eventually defeated Santa Anna’s army, April 21st at San Jacinto and the rest is history.

The Hawks are presently on a seven game losing streak, but you could see Coach Dunavant drawing a line in the sand in the dugout after the loss to SA Reagan and the result will soon be forthcoming on when the Hawks make another run for the playoffs.

The Reagan Rattlers jumped off to a quick 4-0 lead going into the bottom of the third inning. The Hawks had amassed one walk and had struck out five times going into the bottom of the inning. The team could of mailed it in with what had happened during the tournament, with lopsided losses.

Then Daniel Camarillo came to bat with one out and started the come back with a sharp single after seeing only one pitch. Zach Jenkins followed suit with another single giving the Hawks their first threat of the evening.

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“I did not do to well in the first game today,” right fielder Camarillo said. “Coach Hodges had a talk with me about putting the ball in play.”

Put it play is an understatement with a three hit game for Camariilo.

One out later Jeff Nabors reached base with a four pitch walk, giving Logan Felch the chance with the bases loaded to do some damage.

Felch hit a gapper to the wall driving in two runs and cutting the lead in half…4-2.

Michael Brady reached first on an error from the short stop scoring the third run in the inning and giving the young Hawks some taste of success. The three runs scored in that one inning matched the number of runs the Hawks had had in the last three games combined.

Zach Jenkins kept the score close by shutting out the Rattlers in the next two innings. Reagan did score one more run in the top of the sixth inning increasing the lead to two runs with time running out for the good guys.

“We played like a team and everybody made plays in this game,” pitcher Jenkins said. “We are learning by playing these teams. We need to play as one, this will help us to play as we continue in district.”

The resilient Hawks would not say die, after two outs in the bottom of the sixth, Dylan Adams singled and Camarillo singled drawing a throw to first that went to the outfield allowing both runners to score and tying up the score at five runs apiece.

The Hawks had a chance to go into the bottom of the seventh inning tied, but a costly error allowed the Rattlers to eventually plate four more runs for the final score, 9-5.

“We ran into a buzz saw and took one on the chin,” Head Coach Trent Dunavant said stoically. “Good teams expose our weaknesses and this would not have happened if we played lower class teams. The mistakes we made did not have to be told to them.”

“We are gaining confidence and knowledge of what our limits are,” Dunavant finished.

The 1-8 Hawks have an opportunity to play a game against their first foe that resides as a 3A school, they will start District 26-3A at home this Tuesday against Bandera at 6:30.

This will be the time your Hawks will attempt to get Santa Anna to follow them until they grow tired and with the same resolve as the Texans, they can say remember the Alamo (the first part of the season) and defeat the Mexicans and start their independence (play-offs).