“My teammates set me up and I just had to finish it,” Laxton said. “I got a hold of it and just seeing it go over the left fielders head, it’s going to be unforgettable. It’s something I’ll remember the rest of my life. But this is the best group of guys I could ever do it with.”
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Graham Laxton knew he had a chance to make history.
Coming to the plate in extra innings with a man on third, Laxton was aware of the situation he was in. Having a chance to get where the Tigers couldn’t last season and make the regional finals.
Laxton stayed composed, found a ball to hit and drilled it into deep left center field, sending the crowd and his teammates into a frenzy with a walk off single, lifting Katy to a 4-3 win over Clear Springs in the second game of their regional semifinal series, which Katy swept two games to none.
“My teammates set me up and I just had to finish it,” Laxton said. “I got a hold of it and just seeing it go over the left fielders head, it’s going to be unforgettable. It’s something I’ll remember the rest of my life. But this is the best group of guys I could ever do it with.”
Katy needed the walkoff after Clear Springs mounted a comeback. The Tigers built a three run lead that slipped away, with Clear Spring tying things in the top of the seventh to send the game to extra innings.
It was a fast start for Katy, which kicked off the scoring in the second inning. The tigers got a man on with two outs and started a rally. Josh Dunayvzan hit an infield single and an errant throw allowed Cole Kaase to get around third and beat a throw home. Nayden Ramirez then hit a big triple to drive in a second before scoring himself on a wild pitch.
Clear Springs slowly started working back into the game, getting a run in the in the third inning on an error from a pickoff attempt and getting another in the fourth on a sacrifice grounder, before eventually tying it in the seventh on an RBI single.
The Katy pitching staff did a strong job on the night like they have all postseason. Lucas Moore went five innings, allowing just one earned run while striking out and walking two. Aiden Barrientes threw an inning without allowing a hit or run, Cole Kaase pitched an inning, allowing one run and striking out one before Aaron Brashear pitched a clean top half of the eighth inning.
“It was a really tight strike zone tonight and you just have to work around that sometimes and we did a good job of it,” Moore said. “We did a pretty good job of that tonight and I think we did it just a bit better than their guys with it. That’s a big part of why we won the game.”
AJ Atkinson started the bottom of the eighth with a double and Sutton Hull got Atkinson to third with a sacrifice bunt. Laxton then stepped up and delivered the game winning single.
“Graham is an impact player,” said Katy head coach Wes Hearne. “He made a big defensive play in the top of the eighth and it kind of got the momentum back in our favor. Clear Springs had a mound visit with him up and I told Graham ‘They’re about to groove one to you.’ He saw it and unloaded on it. I’m just proud of him.”
The win was a special one for Katy, it was redemption for coming just short in the regional semifinals last year and it clinched the Tigers first regional final berth since 2006. But for the Tigers, this isn’t the end goal and they want to keep pushing.
Katy will play the winner of Pearland and Cinco Ranch in the regional final.
“We’re excited, but our mantra since before this season started has been Round Rock and getting to state,” Hearne said. “That’s what we preached and that’s what we break out on, it’s kind of our thing. It’s on them though, this is their team and if they want to do it they knew they would have to dedicate themselves to it. They’ve grinded and grinded to get to this point and I couldn’t be more proud, but the job isn’t finished.”