High school baseball: Johnson's Cody Templeton honored; Georgetown named team of the week
Lake Travis remained hot on the playoff trail by sweeping a pair of games against San Antonio Clark, 5-1 and 7-0 at Dripping Springs High. Blessed with a deep pitching staff, the Cavaliers seem destined to reach the Class 6A state tournament. Ethan Calder pitched six strong innings in the opener, giving up one run and five hits while fanning eight batters. Lake Travis clinched the series with a combined no-hitter by Jackson Baker, OJ Gonzalez and Hudson Gardner. Texas A&M-bound shortstop Kaeden Kent continued his brilliant season, going 2-for-3 and driving in a run in the opener. Kent had a hand in the second game, too, driving in a pair of runs with a double. Lake Travis (31-5-3) has won nine of its last 10 games. The Cavs move on to the fourth round of the state playoffs with a best-of-three series against La Joya that began Thursday night. ... Blanco earned a 10-0 victory in the opener of its best-of-three Class 3A series against Marion. It marked the first time Marion had been shut out all season. Ryne Kaiser struck out nine for the Panthers, who were beaten 2-0 in the second game. That marked the first time Blanco had been shut out in five years. Blanco won the decisive game 9-2 behind strong pitching from Carson Smith and Kaiser. ... Cedar Park coach Lanny Williams pays tribute to Jackie Robinson by wearing Robinson's jersey No. 42. Before last week's game against Johnson, Williams said he "wouldn't be where I am" without his idol. After playing three years of college baseball at Henderson State in Arkadelphia, Ark., Williams played six years of pro ball. A 12th-round draft pick of the Texas Rangers in 1991, he played three seasons with the Rangers and three more with the Tyler Wildcatters. ... Round Rock junior pitcher Travis Sykora, a University of Texas pledge, made the most of his 29 innings this spring. He struck out an astounding 71 batters, meaning only 16 outs were recorded by his defense. He finished with an ERA of 0.00. Round Rock coach John Carter said his ace has been clocked as high as 101 mph. He also said Sykora likely will be taken in the top 10 of the 2023 Major League Baseball draft.
More: No-hitter helps Lake Travis baseball team sweep aside SA Clark
Player of the Week
Cody Templeton, pitcher, Johnson: In a one-game playoff, the Jaguar senior was on top of his game, allowing only two hits and striking out 10 in a 4-0 victory over Cedar Park. Only one Cedar Park batter made it to second base. Templeton helped his own cause with a run-scoring single in the first inning to help Johnson improve its record to 24-10-1.
More: Late heroics lift Georgetown into next round of baseball playoffs
Team of the Week
Georgetown: The Eagles stayed alive in the state playoffs by defeating New Braunfels Canyon 3-2 in the decisive game of a best-of-three series last weekend at Westlake High. They won in dramatic fashion, scoring two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning. EJ Davis walked with the bases loaded to tie the game and Reece Bell following by driving in Zack Zavala with a single to left to win it.
Rick Cantu
Fourth-round playoff schedule
Class 6A
Lake Travis vs. La Joya (best-of-three series)
Game 1: Thursday, late
Game 2: 3 p.m. Saturday at Sinton HS
Game 3: 30 minutes after game 2 (if necessary)
Class 5A
Johnson vs. Mission Sharyland Pioneer (best-of-three series)
Game 1: Thursday, late
Game 2: 7 p.m. Friday at Cabaniss Baseball Fields, Corpus Christi
Game 3: noon Saturday at Cabaniss Baseball Fields (if necessary)
Georgetown vs. Corpus Christi Ray (best-of-three series)
Game 1: Thursday, late
Game 2: 7 p.m. Friday at North East Sports Park in San Antonio
Game 3: noon Saturday at North East Sports Park in San Antonio (if necessary)
Class 3A
Lago Vista vs. Corpus Christi London (best-of-three series)
Game 1: Thursday, late
Game 2: 2 p.m. Saturday at Jourdanton HS
Game 3: 30 minutes after game 2 (if necessary)
Blanco vs. Bishop (best-of-three series)
Game 1: Thursday, late
Game 2: 2 p.m. Saturday at UTSA
Game 3: 30 minutes after game 2 (if necessary)
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Johnson pitcher Cody Templeton leads Jags to win over Cedar Park
