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WHEN: THURSDAY-FRIDAY-SATURDAY, MARCH 09, 10, 11
WHERE: Four venues in Austin will be used for tournament play. Akins plays at only two of those.
Click on a location for driving directions.
Nelson Baseball Field Northwest baseball field (Northwest Park)
Oates Field (Garrison Park) The Quarries - Hyde Park
AKINS EAGLES PLAY:
Thursday, Mar 09, 2006:
GAME TIME: 12:00 NOON
LOCATION: NELSON
OPPONENT: HENDRICKSON HAWKS
SCORE: EAGLES 04, HENDRICKSON 03
GAME TIME: 7:30 PM
LOCATION: NELSON
OPPONENT: REAGAN RAIDERS
SCORE: EAGLES 17, REAGAN 00
Friday, Mar 10, 2006:
GAME TIME: 12:00 NOON
LOCATION: NORTHWEST
OPPONENT: LANIER VIKINGS
SCORE: EAGLES 20, LANIER 07
GAME TIME: 2:30 PM
LOCATION: NORTHWEST
OPPONENT: TRAVIS REBELS
SCORE: EAGLES 3, TRAVIS 04
Saturday Mar 11, 2006:
GAME TIME: 5:00 PM
LOCATION: NELSON
OPPONENT: MARBLE FALLS MUSTANGS
SCORE: EAGLES 06, MARBLE FALLS 06
TEAMS:
- Akins Eagles
- Bastrop Bears
- Del Valle Cardinals
- Hendrickson Hawks
- Johnston Rams
- Lanier Vikings
- LBJ Jaguars
- Lockhart Lions
- Marble Falls Mustangs
- Reagan Raiders
- Travis Rebels
ADMISSION:
No admission fee is charged.
TOURNAMENT STYLE: 11 teams. Modified double-elimination with consolation. Subject to the weather, each team (with the exception of the last place team) is guaranteed a minimum of 5 games.
TOURNAMENT RULES:
Home Team: Home team is listed last and occupies the 3rd base dugout.
Hitting: Not available at playing sites and no infield/outfield.
Time Limit: No inning may be started after two hours and 15 minutes of play. A time limit of 90 seconds will be enforced between innings to keep games
moving. All play stops at 2hrs. 15min. or 7 innings. If 7 innings are complete and score is tied and there is still time, then a drop dead rule will apply.
Drop Dead: One additional inning. Team that advances the farthest runner on the bases will be the winner. If still tied then tie breaker
rules apply.
Tie Games: 1.) Team with the most total bases will be the winner.
2.) Most runners reaching 3rd base safely
3.) Most runners reaching 2nd base safely
4.) Most runners reaching 1st base safely
5.) Coin Flip
Run Rules: Ten run rule is in effect after 5 innings and eight run rule after 4 innings.
Dressing Facilities: Dressing is not available at any of the fields.
Complete tournament schedule for all participating teams? Click here. 
Commentary
The Eagles came from behind to eclipse the Hendrickson Hawks with a 3-run rally in the 6th inning. Daniel Fabian
led off that inning with a base hit, and a perfectly executed sacrifice bunt by Randy Berg moved the runner to 2nd. Daniel Leal followed with an RBI triple and then sprinted home on a passed ball to tie the
score at 3 apiece. Martin Salinas provided the go-ahead run with a solo homer over the 347-foot left field fence at Nelson. Tyler Pinson got the win, and Daniel Leal recorded his second save of the season.
In the Thursday nightcap, the Eagles faced an overmatched team from Reagan High School. Eagle starter Matt Cavazos went the distance, which was shortened to only 4 defensive innings by the tournament’s run rule.
Cavazos gave up only 1 hit in recording his first win of the season. At the plate, the Eagles racked up 12 hits, the gem being Daniel Guerra’s inside-the-park grand slam homer in the 1st inning. With the win, the
Eagles are off to an 8-4 start for the season.
The runaway final score of the Eagles’ tournament game with the Lanier Vikings on Friday belies the fact that the contest was a back-and-forth affair in the early innings. In fact, the Eagles were behind by a run going into
the 4th inning. The outing was an error festival for both teams, and the score became so lopsided in favor of the Eagles that at one point, the home plate umpire attempted to end the game by invoking the tournament’s
run rule. He was overruled by the tournament officials who wrote the strangely worded rule and presumably understood its intent. Martin Salinas pitched a complete game for the Eagles and gave up only 2 earned
runs. Eagles Daniel Guerra and Michael Flores both hit 3-baggers. The final score was 20-7, but the scoreboard reported only 18-7. When asked about the discrepancy, the scoreboard operator said that his
version of the score just “looked better.” The scoreboard was turned off altogether within 2 seconds of the final out.
The second AISD tournament game on Friday had a much closer score. The Eagles led 3-2 going into the 6th inning. Back-to-back Travis home runs in the 6th proved to be the difference in the final score, but
underlying factors have to include the game’s 4 Eagle errors and the fact that the Eagles left no fewer than 9 runners stranded on base. Jacob Saldaña went 3 for 4 at the plate. Eagle starting pitcher Randy Berg
took the loss. The final score was a frustrating 4-3. And while that tally certainly didn’t “look better” to Eagle fans, it was still on the scoreboard more than 20 minutes after the game had ended.
The Eagles got off to a slow start in Saturday’s game. How slow? Well, going into the bottom of the 5th inning at Nelson Field, Marble Falls had a 6-0 shutout going. Randy Berg’s leadoff double set the tone for
that inning. Martin Salinas followed with a base hit, and then Tyler Pinson brought two Eagle runners in to score with a 2-RBI triple. Brandon Stewart’s clutch sacrifice bunt pushed Pinson
across the plate. The Eagle defense held the Mustangs scoreless, and in the bottom of the 7th, Daniel Leal started things off with
an extra base hit. He was the first of 4 consecutive Eagles who hit in that inning, and the result was a score knotted at 6. Neither team scored in the single extra inning allowed by tournament rules. On the mound,
Matt Cavazos opened for the Eagles, and Leal closed. A tie isn’t a satisfying conclusion to any baseball game. In fact, it isn’t even really baseball. But the strong come-from-behind effort by the Eagles is baseball -
at its very best.
The tournament was won by the Vista Ridge Rangers, who defeated Bastrop in the championship game Saturday evening. Vista Ridge is the newest high school in the Leander ISD. The presence of Vista Ridge in
the tournament is something of mystery, since the school’s name never appeared in the tournament material distributed by the Austin Independent School District.
The Eagles and Marble Falls were playing for 3rd place in the tourney, but following the tie, tournament officials made no mention of the finishing order beyond 1st and 2nd place. Perhaps it’s enough of an honor
just to have competed?
The Eagle coaching staff selected two players to be recognized for their outstanding play in the 2006 AISD Division II Tournament. Congratulations to Jacob Saldaña and Daniel Leal!
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