The histories of Round Rock and Vandegrift baseball couldn’t be much different. It’s a shocking development if Round Rock doesn’t win a district title or at least make the playoffs and advance at least a couple of rounds – if not further. When the UIL State Baseball Tournament is held just a couple of miles away at Round Rock’s Dell Diamond, it’s easy to see why baseball DNA infuses the Dragons.
Vandegrift’s baseball program has seen success on a smaller scale. The Vipers reached the playoffs for just the fifth time last week in this, the program’s 16th season, have never finished higher than fourth in district, and are still looking for their first district title and first post-season win.
Much like Dripping Springs and Westlake battling for the District 26-6A title with Lake Travis lurking in the shadows, Round Rock and Vandegrift will face off for the District 25-6A crown (with Cedar Ridge still in the mix) when they clash in this week’s other VYPE Series Spotlight.
Round Rock is still the team to beat until proven otherwise. Coach John Carter’s Dragons (22-6-1, 12-2) return a solid core from last year’s district co-champs, including seniors Chris Alsobrooks, Jacob Gayman, Trajan Godbee and Jake Staretz. Their two district losses came by a combined 4 runs in series splits with potential co-champ Cedar Ridge and probable playoff team McNeil. The Dragons can clinch the district title with a split. As an added incentive, a split would also be enough to lock in Round Rock as the #1 seed in 25-6A Division 1. That, in turn, would give them a first-round matchup with a Bowie club that’s hovering around the .500 mark, instead of facing the powerful Lake Travis Cavaliers.
Vandegrift finds itself in uncharted territory. Coach Jerod Hickle’s Vipers (21-6, 11-3) crossed the 20-win threshold for the first time in program history last week at Westwood and punched their ticket to the playoffs with a 7th inning comeback walk-off last Thursday night (4/17). (Ironically, Westwood eliminated Vandegrift with a late comeback in a play-in game last season.) With returning starters Evan Farrow and Brendan Kopp back, Vandegrift seemed set on the mound – until some injuries and inconsistencies cropped up. Fortunately, versatile seniors George Farley and Kanyon Millar have not only picked up the slack on the mound, they, along with seniors Tristan Oballo and Jack Huerkamp and juniors Miles Teodecki and Braylon Jones, have provided offensive firepower and a solid defense. Already guaranteed to finish higher than fourth for the first time in program history, a Viper sweep would give them their first district title.
Game 1 will be tomorrow (4/22) from Venom Field at Vandegrift High School before the series moves to Dragon Diamond at Round Rock High School on Friday (4/25). VYPE Live will broadcast both games, courtesy of the Vandegrift Baseball Booster Club and sponsors.What: Vandegrift vs. Round Rock
When: Tuesday 4/22 and Friday 4/25 (6:45 Pregame, 7:00 First Pitch)
Where: Vandegrift HS & Round Rock HS
Who: Merle Bertrand
Watch:https://www.vype.com/ AND http://vypelive.com/web/broadcast/index
THE POWER RANKINGS: Dripping Springs remains on top of frozen in Austin area baseball poll
Our Top 4 teams in this week’s Power Rankings are all 6A powerhouses. Too bad the new playoff format takes away the opportunity for them all to meet in the playoffs. Round Rock or Lake Travis, for instance, could win the 6A Division 1 state title while Dripping Springs or Westlake could go all the way in 6A Division 2. But they wouldn’t meet to decide who’s really king of the hill. Such a shame.
So, you’ll just have to lean on the Power Rankings to solve this little mystery for you.
That sounds silly even to us – but then again, this penultimate poll of the year shows remarkable stability. In fact, none of the top 11 teams suffered a single loss last week. Then-12th-ranked Hays were defeated twice, albeit it to powerful #5 Liberty Hill, and dropped a spot behind Weiss. Similarly, Stony Point suffered two crushing close losses to #2 Round Rock but remained in 14th as #15 Georgetown suffered two close losses to 6A powers Dripping Springs and Cedar Ridge.
In other words, the Rankings are calcifying like fossils heading into this final week of the regular season which will see Drip face Westlake and Round Rock clashing with Vandegrift with district titles on the line. We’ll be back one more time next week to see how it all sorts out.
VYPE's Austin Baseball Rankings
1. (1) Dripping Springs Tigers (6A) 18-8 (Def. #15 Georgetown; def. McCallum)
2. (2) Round Rock Dragons (6A) 22-5-1 (Swept #14 Stony Point)
3. (3) Westlake Chaparrals (6A) 21-4-1 (Swept Del Valle)
4. (4) Lake Travis Cavaliers (6A) 15-9-3 (Swept Akins)
5. (5) Liberty Hill Panthers (5A) 20-6 (Swept #12 Hays)
6. (6) Buda Johnson Jaguars (6A) 19-7 (Swept Cibolo Steele)
7. (7) Cedar Ridge Raiders (6A) 18-8 (Def. McCallum; def. #15 Georgetown)
8. (8) Vandegrift Vipers (6A) 21-6 (Swept Westwood)
9. (9) Rouse Raiders (5A) 19-7-2 (Swept Lehman)
10. (10) Anderson Trojans (5A) 19-6 (Swept Bastrop)
11. (11) San Marcos Rattlers (6A) 20-7-1 (Swept New Braunfels)
12. (13) Weiss Wolves (5A) 16-6-2 (Swept Pflugerville)
13. (12) Hays Hawks (5A) 16-9-1 (Swept by #5 Liberty Hill)
14. (14) Stony Point Tigers (6A) 14-14-1 (Swept by #2 Round Rock)
15. (15) Georgetown (5A) 13-11-1 (L @ #1 Dripping Springs; L @ #7 Cedar Ridge)
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