Round Rock wins baseball opener 2-1 in last at bat

Dragons defeat defending 4A state champion Brenham in Rock Hardball Classic

By RYAN METZ

Special to the Leader

Travis Evans admits that his adrenaline was pumping pretty hard in the first inning.

Round Rock’s senior ace pitcher saw the dozens of scouts turn the radar guns on behind home plate Thursday morning at The Dell Diamond when he threw his first pitch. Not making it any easier was the fact that in the other dugout was a talented Brenham lineup that saw The Dell last June, capturing the 4A state championship.

Evans set the tone, pitching six strong innings and delivered the game-winning hit in the bottom of the seventh inning leading Round Rock to a 2-1 win in their opener over Brenham in the Rock Hardball Classic.

“To say that I was nervous coming into here would be an understatement,” said Evans, a TCU baseball commit. “I knew that it was a tough game coming in to the season.”

The left-hander worked through a tough first inning when three runners were left on base. Evans gave up consecutive two-out doubles to Brenham’s Chance Bolcerek and Colton Walla in the third, with Bolcerek coming into score. With the last out in the third he went on to retire seven hitters in a row while finding his groove.

“In the first four guys, two of them are D1, it’s kind of intimidating,” said Evans, after allowing the lone run on three hits and striking out three with three walks. “That team is nothing to snicker at and it definitely helps our confidence getting that win.”

Brenham brought back four starters from their championship team from last year. Their shortstop, Drake Roberts, has signed with the University of Arkansas and Chance Bolcerek, the centerfielder, signed with Texas A&M along with Thursday’s starter Ty Schlottmann who also is an A&M signee.

Round Rock’s Matt Munoz singled in Colton Turner in the third to tie the game.

Following the sixth inning, the tarp was rolled on the field as both teams waited nearly two hours in the rain.

Luke Byars picked up the win after pitching a scoreless seventh for the Dragons (1-0). Daniel Linan got in scoring position with a one-out double for Round Rock before Evans drove a 1-2 count pitch to right-center for the winning hit.

“Our kids are real excited, they wanted that game,” Round Rock coach John Carter said. “That’s what high school baseball is all about right there.”

The Hardball Classic features 16 elite teams across the state getting a chance to play in front of a slew of scouts.

The competition is a nice tune-up for the Dragons before district play that starts on Tuesday.

“Six guys that are going to pitch for us this weekend,” Carter said. “We’re going to have to have good arms because our district is going to be a barn burner like it always is.”

The lefty Schlottman pitched 5.0 innings and allowed one run for Brenham (1-1), before Garrett Webb threw a scoreless sixth and Jesse Baker earned the loss in the seventh.

Published in the Round Rock Leader on Feb. 28, 2011.