Fewer than one in five Louisiana high school baseball teams to lose a playoff series have rebounded to win the next two games.
Sam Houston has now done so back-to-back years on the biggest stage to repeat at Division-I Non-Select champions.
The No. 1 Broncos followed Friday’s 3-1 bounce-back against No. 8 Dutchtown with Saturday’s 4-0 shutout on the right arms of Brytn Gardner and Coleton Donaldson.
The junior duo combined to two-hit the Griffins with Gardner striking out five batters in four innings before three hitless innings of relief with four strikeouts by Donaldson.
Back-to-back two-out singles by junior designated hitter Ty Smith and junior first baseman Owen Galley put the Broncos on the board in the bottom of the first.
A leadoff single by sophomore shortstop Kannon Keiser and home run the next at bat by senior second baseman Carson Christ tripled the lead in the third inning.
And a single by sophomore right fielder Quinn Fiasconaro and RBI double by sophomore left fielder Brock Blessington added another insurance run in the fourth.
Meanwhile Sam Houston’s pitchers cruised with just singles in the first and fourth innings, a handful of scattered walks and a seventh-inning error allowing Griffins aboard.
Dutchtown only managed to reach third base in the fourth inning when a walk of senior Dawson LeBlanc, single by senior right fielder Seth Davis and a balk put runners in scoring position with one out.
But the Broncos, excellent on defense much of the day, induced one grounder to throw quickly home to start a run-down for a run-saving second out and then another to shut the door on the threat.
Junior Cole Bowling, senior lefty Austin Aker and senior Braden Hinson kept the Griffins within striking distance, but the No. 8 seed could never piece together enough offensively to put a fairytale ending on its Cinderella run to the finals.
Even when Dutchtown managed runners, Sam Houston recorded four double-plays to help consistently extinguish attempted rallies.
The Broncos’ second straight title marks its third all-time.
