Clutch hit: Ozuna's double pushes Taft past Hebbronville in playoff thriller
Efrain Ozuna was simply looking for a pitch to drive when he entered the batter's box with two runners on and his Taft baseball team down a run to Hebbronville.
Ozuna took the first pitch offered from Longhorns starter Dylan Holbein, which was pitch 105 for the left-hander, and sent a ball to the right-center field fence that scored the two runs needed to give Taft a 3-2 victory in a Class 3A bi-district one-game playoff at Steve Chapman Field.
Ozuna drove in all three runs for the Greyhounds, who won in the playoffs for the first time since 2019, as Taft found a way to break through at Holbein, who had kept the Greyhounds off-balance for much of the night.
"I was just waiting for him to throw me something, hopefully drive it put the ball in play and move over the runs," said Ozuna, who was 3 for 4 with three RBI on the night. "It was staying together as a team an believing in each other and we got the job done."
Taft advances to take on either Rio Hondo or Donna IDEA Academy in the area round.
Thursday's highlights
Hebbronville was aggressive early on Taft starter Josh Suarez as Nate Garza and Holbein reached on a double and infield single to start the game, and then Garza later scored on a safety squeeze bunt from Sammy Cadena. Robert Cremar drove in Holbein with a double to left-center field. For the Longhorns, though, that was all the runs they scored in the game as Suarez faced runners in scoring position in the third and sixth innings. He retired six straight to end the game. Taft, meanwhile, cut the 2-0 lead in half in the third when Suarez scored on an infield single from Ozuna. The Greyhounds left runners in scoring position on base in the fifth and six innings before scoring the winning runs in the seventh.
Thursday's stars
Pitching ruled the day on Thursday. Holbein finished the night allowing three runs on nine hits with nine strikes and his lone walk allowed came in the seventh to Suarez, who scored the game-winning run. Suarez, meanwhile, continued his stellar season by scattering six hits over seven innings, striking out 13 and not allowing a walk and throwing right at 100 pitches. Ozuna was the only Taft player with multiple hits as Andrew Martinez was 1 for 3 with a run. Nata Garza was 2 for 4 for the Longhorns with a run and stolen base.
They said it
Taft centerfield Efrain Ozuna on the Greyhounds advancing in the playoffs for the first time since 2019: "It feels good, just staying together as a team. The coaches coach us very well, we are very disciplined in practice and it when comes to the games stuff like this can happen."
Taft coach Juan Buendia on how his team rebounded after giving up two early runs: "I think they were down a little bit but they stayed in it and kept their head in there, and when they scored that one run that helped out a little bit and we just kept plugging away and trying not to get down too much on ourselves. Josh (Suarez) just beared down, he grew up a lot today, he went to the next level now."
Hebbronville coach Gonzie Trevino on this year's team: "Being in our district, you develop callouses because the competition is so tough. There are games just like this throughout the whole district, it prepared us for games like this. We've been in games like this all the time. We are prepared. It just didn't go our way tonight, and that's the way it is. God's work, that's his plan and we'll learn from it."
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: High School Baseball: Efrain Ozuna's double pushes Taft to playoff win
