HS BASEBALL: The Oak Ridge War Eagles Claim The District Championship Over The Woodlands Highlanders

THE WOODLANDS – In the final week of the regular season, The Woodlands Highlanders faced the undefeated Oak Ridge War Eagles in a pivotal series. Both teams were in contention for the district title, with The Woodlands' only loss coming in an early-season series against Grand Oaks, while Oak Ridge looked to remain perfect on the season. The Highlanders would have to sweep the 2-game series to claim the championship, meaning one win by the War Eagles would give Oak Ridge the title. It was a fitting series to end district play, and it was set up to be a fantastic matchup.

Game 1: Oak Ridge Continues To Hit Well, Despite Solid Highlander Pitching

With game 1 of this series the most important, the Highlanders and War Eagles put out their best lineups. Jack Smejkal was on the mound for the Highlanders, and while the ace has been a reliable arm throughout the season, he had a rough start in this one. Oak Ridge immediately put their foot on the gas, as a leadoff double from standout hitter Jonell Rodriguez started the rally, before Luis Olmeda smashed a triple off the right-field wall to score a run with only 2 batters even seeing the plate. Two straight walks loaded the bases, putting Smejkal in a rough spot. Even a double play from Johan Fernandez didn't prevent the War Eagles from scoring another run, putting them up 2-0. Another hit from Kole DeBerardinis drove in the 3rd run of the inning, showing just how strong this War Eagle lineup is from top to bottom and putting the score at 3-0. Mercifully, a lineout to left field ended the inning, but not before Christopher Thompson had put himself and DeBerardinis in scoring position with a double.

From there, the game turned into a pitching battle as Olmeda took the mound for the War Eagles and shut down the top of The Woodlands lineup to close out the 1st inning. Smejkal responded to his rough 1st inning by retiring the next 3 batters, including 2 strikeouts. From there, the two pitchers went back and forth, with Smejkal and Olmeda both working through batters through the 4th inning. The bottom of the 4th is where things got interesting again, as Olmeda walked 2 straight batters, prompting his replacement by Jessie Leija. Leija immediately gave up a single to Chase Bradley that loaded the bases and allowed Benjamin Gordley to score on a sac-fly from Elias Diaz, finally putting The Woodlands on the board 3-1. After that, the pitching battle remained, as The Woodlands struggled to get any solid hits and Smejkal kept piling up strikeouts. Smejkal eventually ended his night after the 6th inning, throwing an incredible 10 strikeouts while allowing 7 hits and 3 runs.

The 7th inning was where the War Eagles came back to life, as they picked on the new pitcher, Xavier Gregg, hard in the top of the inning. Corben Alexander started the rally with a single, and an error by Gregg put Rodriguez on 2nd, putting the new pitcher in a tough bind. It didn’t help that Olmeda stepped up to the plate on the next play and smashed a deep single to center that sent both runners home, putting the Highlanders in a 5-1 deficit. Two straight singles followed, as Drayton Urbay and Carson Holamon loaded the bases for a Dereck Hernandez fielder's choice that sent Olmeda home and set the final score at 6-1. The Highlanders didn’t do much with their final chance, as no one recorded a hit, and the War Eagles went on to secure the win.

This was all the War Eagles needed to claim the coveted district championship, as even a loss on Friday wouldn’t affect their placement. Oak Ridge now has 3 district titles in the last 5 years, adding this championship to their 2022 & 2024 titles and cementing their status as a baseball powerhouse. Game 2 would decide if they could now lay claim to an undefeated district run before the playoffs started.

Game 2: A Close Game Ends With The War Eagles Remaining Perfect

With game 2 of this series carrying less weight, we’ll go through this one quickly. It was a closer game than game 1, with The Woodlands finally finding their bats and scoring solid runs throughout. Sawyer Banks started The Woodlands off with a bang, smashing a home run into right field in the top of the 2nd inning. The War Eagles responded with a run of their own as Carson Holamon scored on a DeBerardinis single, tying the game at 1-1. The Woodlands then scored their final 2 runs in the 3rd, as Cash Clayton drove in Johan Fernandez on a triple, before Smejkal hit a single that brought Gordley home, the courtesy runner for Clayton. This put the score at 3-1, and it remained that way until the 5th inning, where Olmeda once again came up with a clutch double that drove in Jack Furman, while Rodriguez was caught trying to reach home for the tying run. Oak Ridge then scored again, with DeBerardinis driving in a run off a double to center, tying the game at 3-3 heading into the 7th inning.

From there, the chaos began. The score remained tied at 3-3 after the 7th inning, so we headed into extra innings to decide the winner. It was a hard-fought battle that lasted all the way to the 10th inning, when none other than Olmeda scored the winning run after an error by pitcher Luke Sheeren. It was a fitting end to this series, as both teams fought until the end and put everything they had into their final regular-season game.

This win gives Oak Ridge a coveted undefeated district record, something The Woodlands achieved last year and an achievement that’s hard to come by in such a competitive district. Oak Ridge will now enter the playoffs with a strong finish to the season and looks to be a favorite to make a deep run in the tournament this weekend. The Woodlands will also be in the state playoffs, although this isn’t the way they wanted the season to end. They are still a very good team and should be a team to watch when the tournament starts. The state tournament begins this weekend on May 2nd. With the bracket being finalized, make sure to check out our previews when the schedules are released.