The Ropes Eagles faced off against the Collinsville Panthers in a best-of-three series for the State Semifinals round of the 2A Division 2 playoffs this past Wednesday and Thursday at Abilene Christian University, resulting in the Eagles sweeping them to punch their ticket to the State Championship.
In game one on Wednesday, Ropes beat Collinsville 4-2 across seven innings. Ropes scored a run in the first inning and two runs in the second, then Collinsville responded with a run in the fourth inning and the teams each added a run in the sixth inning.
In the team statistics, the Eagles bested the Panthers 63 in hits and 2-4 in errors committed, while the two teams tied with a walk apiece.
Ropes set the tone for the game on the mound as Elijah Flores and Cutter Stumbo held Collinsville to a combined one earned run on three hits.
Flores earned the win, adding two strikeouts and throwing 61% of his pitches for strikes. Stumbo would find the strike zone on 67% of his pitches.
Standouts at the plate in game one included Ryland Kieth going ½ with two runsbatted- in and one run scored, Maddux Sierra going 1/3 with an RBI, Cason Kucel going 1/3 with an RBI, Brayden Hogg going 2/3 with two runs scored, Flores going 1/ 3 and Jaivyth Cruz with a walk.
In game two on Thursday, Ropes beat Collinsville 4-3 across seven innings in comeback fashion. Collinsville took a 3-2 lead in the first frame and would hold it up until the fifth inning, when Ropes scored the two game-winning runs.
In the team statistics, the Eagles bested the Panthers 15 in errors committed, while the Panthers bested them 42 in walks and they tied at four hits apiece.
Ropes continued their mound dominance in game two as Kade Franklin got the start, pitching three innings, surrendering zero earned runs on three hits and three walks while striking out six batters. He’d be relieved by Stumbo, who pitched the final four innings, surrendering zero earned runs on one hit and one walk while striking out four batters.
Standouts at the plate in game two included Sierra going 1/3 with two RBIs, a run scored, a home run and a walk, Franklin going 1/3 with two RBIs, Flores going 2/3 with a double and Kieth with two runs scored and a walk.
The series win improves the Eagles to 30-5 overall, but more importantly, it captures them the State Semifinal Championship and advances them to the State Championship, a monumental accomplishment for the program.
“It means a great deal to our program, our school and our community. We have several players on this team who have been around the program since it began six years ago,” Ropes Head Baseball Coach Nathan Flores said. “For the last few seasons, they’ve been knocking on the door, but we just couldn’t get past that Regional Semifinal hurdle. Seeing them persevere and overcome that challenge to earn the opportunity to compete for a State Championship is such a blessing.”
Coach Flores would continue on, praising the state of Ropes athletics and expressing his pride in the culture that they’ve established. He'd also make it very clear that “this moment belongs to the Ropes community,” recognizing that their support and belief in the program is what makes things like this possible.
Now, they get an opportunity to bring a state title home to that community as they’ll face the Burton Panthers on Thursday at 12 p.m. at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. It will be a onegame winner takes it all series.