Hope has weekend to remember

UPDATE: Carter Hope signed with the Kansas City Royals on Friday.

The Kansas City Royals have to be excited about what they saw from their third round draft pick in the Class 5A State Baseball Championship Game on Saturday afternoon at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock.

The Woodlands High School senior pitcher Carter Hope turned in one of the more impressive performances you’ll ever see. Not necessarily because of the final score, a 9-5 win over Dulles which gave the Highlanders program their third state championship (2000, 2006, 2013) in three state tournament appearances.

You certainly can’t question Hope’s stamina. The 6-3, 195-pound right-hander, the 82nd overall pick in the 2013 MLB Draft, fought off nerves, a potent Dulles lineup, an oppressive heat at game time, and a 30-pitch first inning, to go and complete a brilliant two-hitter, striking out nine in a triathlete-like 126-pitch performance.

The Oklahoma State commit yielded a two-out, two-run single in a marathon first inning that lasted nearly a half hour, then proceeded to hurl no-hit baseball all the way to the seventh inning, where while sitting on a 9-2 cushion, gave up a three-run homer. The fact that he lasted to the seventh inning is a minor miracle in itself.

He admitted that the excitement of being drafted on Friday and pitching in the state championship game a day later had him overly hyped.

“Growing up, that’s what I’ve always wanted to do, become a professional,” Hope said. “It was definitely in the back of my head.”

The Highlanders’ four-run answer in the bottom of the first inning was key in calming Hope, who completed his senior season with a final record of 11-1.

“It’s a lot easier to pitch when you’ve got run support,” said Hope, voted the 5A State Championship Game Most Valuable Player.

The Highlanders provided plenty of it. They matched the four-run first with a four-run third and then added insurance with a run in the sixth.

Charlie Warren, Blaine Gillespie and Josh Shaw delivered two hits each while Kolbi Brown added a hit and drove in two runs. Chris Andritsos joined in with a hit, RBI, and run scored.

Andritsos and Brown were named to the 2013 UIL Baseball State All-Tournament Team along with teammates Alex Dunlap and Luke Sherley.