CL Hawks Baseball Field of Dreams not Nightmares (2nd in Series)

Coach Victor Escamila & Coach Daniel Lancaster hold District Trophy up high after final win over Davenport clinching a first for Canyon Lake.

CL Hawks had a magical season especially when it came to those final innings with several games being decided in those final at bats.

None, however will top the Boerne Battle when CL was going through some doldrums and a very choppy roller-coaster ride during the middle of their season. A back and forth with a win or a loss with those outings finding scoring becoming a visit to your local dentist.

The East Central game was case and point….The Lake was able to squeeze just one hit in this game but it was well timed in the form of a triple that drove in 3 runs erasing a 2 run Hornet lead off the bat of Jeremy Greene.

CL was able to load the bases with two walks and a hit batter for this dramatic victory.

But this was during a time when the Hawks were shut out by SA Johnson, Sinton, and Wimberley while getting wins like the above game with SA East Central and two 2 run tooth pulling battles with Mathis and Wimberley….both for wins.

All of those outings and then one of the worst losses during the season to Fredericksburg losing, 4-3 and having Canyon Lake in a hole early in district play.

That would be the turning point though when CL finished those Billies off in their next contest by a refreshing and turn the water faucet on deluge, 10-0 whitewash.

It would not last long however when Boerne came to the Hawk Nest and were on their way with a 6-0 lead going into those last three frames.

Tyler Pauly had the only hit through 5 innings while The Lake was able to scratch across a run literally when Brayden Welch reached base on a dropped 3rd strike to start that 5th inning and scoring when the Greyhounds walked 3 consecutive Hawks for a run and still being behind the eight-ball, 6-1.

The Hawks have saved up a lot of frustration through a 21 game losing streak against these Greyhounds, that has stretched 11 years but finished with this Canyon Lake win after scoring 5 runs in the final at bat for this historic victory.

Maybe that would be the main reason no Hawk fan would leave the stadium again even when down to their last out of the season in a loss to Navarro.

Paint the Wall was the battle cry for CL with a chance to add to an empty wall through most of those baseball seasons with more nightmares than smiles.

Canyon Lake would put an exclamation point on that first come back victory over perennial baseball powerhouse Boerne, at their house after scoring the first 9 runs of this next contest and keeping their bats hot with an eventual 12-9 win that put CL in a position to do what had seemed an impossibility for a chance in winning a District 28-4A Title.

Wimberley had a forgettable loss to Freddie on that same night and now having The Lake with a chance of controlling their own destiny by winning out their district slate.

The Hawks had now finished the part of their district schedule, 4-2 against the 3 schools that would qualify for post-season along with The Lake.

Canyon Lake responded by outscoring Bandera and Davenport, 50-4 in four games and securing their first District Championship in dominating fashion.

Baseball is one sport that uses 9 individuals playing solo on defense and in the batter’s box in order to compete as a team when put together in harmony.

That would be the case through those first two rounds of the playoffs as the offense continued to hummmm while outscoring Gonzales and Needville, 42-7 before having their season come to an end in a 3 game set with Navarro.

Low scoring games but CL still had chances of pulling off wins in both but just missed a key hit or getting that out needed on defense for a win.

A Hawk team that had painted their wall with accolade paint that had not been reached or in many years not thought possible.

Now that ceiling has been broken and the proof is seeing the sub-varsity teams enjoying success all the way down to Mountain Valley Middle School.

Yes, a great group of Seniors these past two seasons have laid a solid foundation for a chance in needing more walls to paint and a trip to the local hardware store for more paint brushes.

A year that will wear a lot of smiles as this team dreams and  looks for a future of playing longer into the month of May!

Congrats Hawks!!

                        BY THE TEAM NUMBERS:

.317 Team Batting Average.        (Previous best 2020 .286)
.430 Team Slugging Percentage     (Previous best 2009 .397)
.448 Team On Base Percentage      (Previous best 2020 .427)
.939 Team Fielding Percentage     (Previous best 2019 .928)
   1 District 28-4A Championship  (Previous, never)
   3 Rounds of Play-Off Action    (Previous 2 rounds in 2010)
   8 District Wins                (Previous 6, 2010-2013-2014)
   9 Losses which is second lowest compared to 2020 team with 2 games.
  11 Home Wins for most in Hawk history, finished 11-1.
  11 Home-Runs.                   (Previous 2009, 8)
  13 Wins in a row.               (Previous 5, 2020)
  27 Wins                         (Previous 15, 2010)
  52 Doubles                      (Previous 35, 2009)
  70 Extra Base Hits              (Previous 44, 2009)
 173 Base on Balls                (Previous 104, 2018)
 202 RBI                          (Previous 92, 2009, 2019)
 245 Strikeouts recorded          (Previous 201, 2019)
 252 Runs scored.                 (Previous 122, 2009)
 277 Hits recorded                (Previous 163, 2019)
 875 At Bats.                     (Previous 680, 2010)