Feb 05, 2012
Oilers drop heartbreaker to Lufkin in 11th inning
June 17, 2009
AUSTIN — It took 25 years for the Pearland Oilers to make it back to the state baseball tournament and head coach Ben Pardo and his diamondmen milked the return for all its worth. But in the end, Pearland saw Lufkin first baseman Luis Dejesus send a 380-foot home run over the left field fence at Dell Diamond in Round Rock for a two-run walkoff blast that gave the Panthers the hard-fought 4-2 state semifinal victory to end the sparkling season for the Oilers.
As he did against Brazoswood, junior pitcher Matt Rhodes did his part as he went seven innings while allowing only three hits and no earned runs.
Pearland's offense, which had been the key to their Region III championship and deep run in the post-season, wasn't able to pick up the key hits when needed. That turned out to be the difference in the game as there were plenty of opportunities.
"We had runners on base, and the people we wanted at the plate," Pardo said. "That's just baseball. The guys played hard. That might go down as one of the greatest games in high school semifinal history."
The Oilers left 15 runners stranded on base. Once the game went into extra innings, Pearland left runners in scoring position in the ninth, 10th, and 11th innings, including the bases packed in the 11th.
Stephen Shorkey made the game-saving play-of-the-game in the bottom of the ninth when he threw a rocket to catcher Kelly Cross at home plate to erase Lufkin's Stuart Hogue who was trying to score from second base on a single by Ryan Nicholas.
Lufkin took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning thanks to a couple of errors by the Oilers.
But Pearland (30-5) tied up the game in the top of the fourth when Shorkey singled with a runner on base and continued to second that forced Lufkin into a throwing error that allowed Nick Trapp and Shorkey to score on the play.
For the next six scoreless innings, the teams battled with neither team able to come up with the game-winning clutch hit -- until Dejesus launched the game winner in the 11th.
There were obvious heart-wrenching emotions following the loss as this year's Pearland team came from complete obscurity with no one mentioning them as a front-runner to the region title and trip to the state tournament.
As the playoffs began, teams like Alvin, Bellaire, Brazoswood, Katy, and Memorial were the teams in the local headlines. Stories on those teams highlighting individual players began to surface while the Oilers prepared to make their run.
And then -- one-by-one, the area's top teams began to fall and Pearland continued to take care of their own business and took out Baytown Sterling, Clear Brook, Channelview, Katy, and Brazoswood to capture the 2009 5A Region III crown.
All season long - this band of baseball warriors have defied the odds and accomplished things no one thought possible. Apart from the 1980 state championship team, 1981 state finalists, and 1984 state semifinalists -- the 2009 team will go down in Pearland baseball history as one of the top teams to ever represent Pearland High School.
The Oilers were led by a strong senior class that included: Stephen Shorkey, Andrew Paul, Reece Riddle, Keith Davidson, Corbin Smith, Kevin Miller, Josh Gonzales, Trey Price, Nick Trapp, Quinn Guest, James Koinis, Mitch Shepherd, and Seth Dornak.