Rouse continues torrid playoff run as it sweeps into Class 5A regional final
Rouse will get a shot at reaching the state tournament.
The Raiders completed a sweep of Victoria East in a Class 5A regional semifinal series with a 7-0 win Friday in Game 2 at the Northside ISD baseball complex in San Antonio.
It’s the second straight year and third time in four seasons that Rouse has made the regional final.
“Our pitching and defense was strong again," Rouse coach Chad Krempin said. "This is the best team ERA I’ve ever had, and that’s saying something with some of the teams we’ve had here. We've got around a 1.50 ERA. But I'm just proud of all of our guys.”
Oscar Salazar threw a one-hit shutout with five strikeouts and hit a two-run double to help himself at the plate to lead the Raiders.
“Oscar had his stuff," Krempin said. "He started a bit slow, but once we got to the fourth inning he settled in and when we had that big inning, I knew it was over."
Mason Gonzales’ two-run triple was the other big hit for Rouse, which scored all seven runs in the third inning and has lost only once through four rounds of the playoffs.
After two hit batters and a walk, Tyler Espinosa’s RBI single started the Raiders’ seven-run outburst.
More: Rouse downs Victoria East in Game 1 of Class 5A regional semifinal baseball series
Salazar followed with his extra-base hit to left, and an intentional walk to Xander Forsell and another walk to Nathan Miller pushed across another run to give Rouse a 4-0 lead.
A Victoria East error led to the Raiders’ fifth run, and Gonzalez hammered his triple to right to finish out the scoring.
“We’re patient at the plate," Krempin said. "Espinosa got the hit with the bases loaded to get it started. We wanted to make their starter spend as much time on the mound as possible as it was hot."
Salazar followed up his strong performance vs. Cedar Park in the regional quarterfinals with another brilliant showing. He retired 12 of the final 13 batters he faced and threw only 85 pitches. The two runners who reached scoring position did so due to walks.
“He was overpowering enough to where I knew they weren’t going to score much on him," Krempin said.
Rouse will play McAllen Memorial in the regional final.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: UIL baseball playoffs: Rouse sweeps into Class 5A regional final
