State-ranked Ovilla Christian returns to TAPPS state baseball tourney on Friday

A sixth-inning blast and clutch pitching propelled the Ovilla Christian baseball team past Bethesda Christian this past Thursday and back into the TAPPS state tournament.

With the Division 5 regional championship tilt knotted at 5 in the top of the sixth, Lucas Seymore blasted the 1-0 pitch over the left-center field fence. His fourth home run of the season plated Nate Nunes and put the Eagles on top, 7-5.

Parker Navarro would later double to left field and plate MJ Langford for an 8-5 lead, which the Eagles would never relinquish en route to a 12-6 victory.

Wesley Bryant (1-0, 1.27 ERA) earned the win on the bump after closing out the final three frames by allowing one run on two hits and striking out six.

Seymore (9-1, 1.16 ERA) got the start on the mound. The senior struck out three, walked one and allowed one earned run on three scattered hits. Jake Misemer (7-1, 1.00 ERA) bridged the gap with three strikeouts and four earned runs allowed on four hits over his 2.0IP.

Head coach Greg Hayes credited the coaching staff for keeping the team mentally engaged and the kids for playing for each other through injuries and executing what the game called for.

Outside of a non-district tune-up game ahead of the postseason run, the Eagles have not lost since Feb. 17 and 18 — their first two tournament games of the season. The ballclub then reeled off 18 consecutive victories, including a perfect 12-0 mark in TAPPS Division-5 District-3.

Ovilla Christian previously qualified for the TAPPS Division-5 state tournament in 2013, 2015-19 and 2021. Discounting the COVID-shortened season of 2020, the Eagles have now appeared in eight of the past 10 TAPPS state tournaments.

The most recent miss came in 2022 when the Eagles bowed out to Fort Worth Covenant, 2-1, in the regional championship.

Though the arms have stolen the spotlight on the bump a few times this season, don’t sleep on the Eagle bats.

…and a host of others.

Ovilla Christian will face Christian Life Preparatory at 10 a.m. Friday at Clay Gould Ballpark on the University of Texas-Arlington campus.

The 2023 TAPPS Final Four tournament will continue with the Division 5 state title game planned for Saturday, May 13.