Grand slam helps Blanco sweep Jarrell

LIBERTY HILL — The Blanco Panthers stepped off the back of the school bus, one by one, returning to the field with a two-run lead already accounted for.

A one-hour weather delay forced Blanco and the opposing Jarrell Cougars to exit the field just minutes after the opening pitch in the second game of their Class 3A quarterfinal series at Liberty Hill High School. While the break in action seemed to help the Cougars regain their composure early, Blanco took advantage as well, eventually winning Saturday’s game 9-2 to sweep the series.

Despite the Panthers' holding just a small lead heading into the delay, Blanco coach Bryan Wyatt felt no need to have any conversations with his team about potentially relinquishing momentum.

“These guys are the loosest guys I’ve ever had,” Wyatt said. “I can’t even keep them under control so I just let ’em go. They’re loosey-goosey — not a worry in the world.”

When both teams returned to the dugouts, Jarrell matched Blanco’s first-inning output to tie the game. But the Panthers' offense kept rolling. Moments after junior Hunter West scored to make it 3-2, senior Justin Wardlow drove a deep fly ball over the wall in left field for his first grand slam of the season.

“That felt amazing,” Wardlow said. “Overall, I’m just here to produce for my team and go to the next round.”

Wardlow’s five-RBI performance came just one day after his two RBIs pushed the Panthers to a 5-2 win in Game 1, setting up Saturday afternoon for an early closeout.

The win moves Blanco ahead to the Class 3A regional semifinals, a milestone the program has not reached since 2012.

Westlake falls in third game: A late rally fell one run short as the Chaparrals lost 6-5 to San Antonio Reagan in the third game of a best-of-three Class 6A regional quarterfinal series at North East Sports Park in San Antonio.

The Chaps trailed 6-1 after five innings, but a home run by Sage Luther helped pull them within one run in the seventh. The Chaps had a man on third when Reagan got the final out.

Westlake (30-8-1) won the first game Thursday 2-0 in San Antonio before Reagan (33-6-1) secured a 2-1 win in a classic defensive struggle Friday at Westlake.

In Friday’s game, Reagan's Cal Martin slammed a two-run homer in the top of the first. Rattlers starting pitcher Will Carsten made the lead stand up, permitting only four hits and striking out four in six innings. Reliever J.T. Moeller retired the Chaparrals in order in the seventh to preserve the victory.

Westlake made its deepest playoff run since 2009.

John Harris, AA-S correspondent

Other baseball action: Pitchers Ryan Peters and Jake Hymel combined for a shutout as Cypress Ranch knocked off Round Rock 3-0 in the third game of a best-of-three Class 6A Region II quarterfinal series Saturday in Mumford. The Dragons (28-12) dropped the first game 2-1 Thursday but rebounded to win 2-1 Friday behind a complete-game effort by pitcher Sean Swain.

In another Class 6A series, Lake Travis rebounded from a Game 1 loss to San Antonio Johnson on Thursday to win 12-6 Friday in San Marcos. The third game, delayed by weather, was rescheduled for Saturday night.

In Class 5A, Georgetown survived a 14-inning battle of attrition Friday in Bryan to beat Porter 4-3 and sweep a Region III quarterfinal series. The Eagles, ranked No. 1 in the state by the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association, advance to face Santa Fe in the regional semifinals. In a Region IV series, Kerrville Tivy eliminated Dripping Springs with a 5-0 win in the third game.

In Class 4A, Liberty Hill finished a sweep of Sealy with a 9-2 win Friday. In Class 3A, Yoakum knocked Gateway Prep from the postseason with a 9-4 win Saturday.

In Class 2A, Big Sandy completed a sweep of Thorndale with a 4-1 win Friday.