Johnson City beat Center Point on the road 14-2 on April 4 and swept San Saba in a doubleheader with scores of 16-6 and 16-1 on April 11.
The Eagles have won every district game so far this season and are ranked number one among Class 2A schools by the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association. With two games left, a perfect district campaign is not only possible – it’s within reach for head coach Rhett Eickenloff’s team.
“We don’t even talk about it, we just come out here every day just trying to get 1% better,” Eickenloff said. “At the same time, our kids continue to play the way they’re capable of, they know what they’re capable of doing, and that’s going undefeated in district.”
Johnson City’s week began in Center Point, where it scored in all five innings played to win 16-0. Behind senior Johnny Slawinski’s five innings of onehit, 14-strikeout baseball, Eagle hitters combined for 12 hits and eight walks and recorded a team batting average of .522. Slawinski walked three times as a batter, and senior Walker Jackson, sophomore Wyatt Lorenzen and junior Luke Lorenzen each batted in two runs.
Last Friday, Johnson City played a doubleheader against San Saba. The Eagles turned to senior Tate Ledbetter to start on the mound in game one of the twinbill, and the team scored seven runs in the first inning. However, San Saba fought back in the fourth inning with four runs, preventing Johnson City from wrapping up the game early. San Saba held Johnson City to one run in each the fourth and fifth before the Eagle bats broke out in the sixth to score six runs and take the 10-run lead needed to end the game early, with game one’s final score being a 16-6 Johnson City win.
Ledbetter pitched four and two-thirds innings and allowed five runs on two hits. He struck out eight San Saba batters. Jackson took over in the fifth inning and pitched one and one-third innings, allowing one run in relief. Slawinski batted in four runs and Jackson stole two bases.
Later that evening, Johnson City and San Saba faced off again to wrap up the doubleheader. Johnson City again had a redhot start, scoring eight runs in the first and seven in the second. San Saba avoided an early end to the ballgame by scoring a run in the third inning, but the Eagles scored that run back in the fourth inning, winning the game on the spot.
Wyatt Lorenzen pitched four innings of one run baseball, giving up five hits and three walks while striking out nine batters. Slawinski drove in another five runs in game two, and Jackson and freshman Truett Fry each batted in two.
In total, Johnson City scored 32 runs across 10 innings of baseball. On a hot spring afternoon with two games to play, Johnson City’s endurance was put to the test, and it showed off its abilities for several hours on Friday evening.
“Our kids are well conditioned,” Eickenloff said. “It’s a good test for us to be able to see what we’re made of when it comes to the conditioning aspect of things.”
The Eagles have two games left in the district schedule, both against Harper. Johnson City hosted the first game on Tuesday after press time. The Eagles travel to Harper for the district season finale on April 25. With the playoffs rapidly approaching, these two games against Harper offer one last opportunity for Johnson City to prepare for the high-stakes environments of postseason play.
“I want to start faster, that’s my goal for every game,” Eickenloff said. “We got to keep getting better, and our kids will pick it up.”
