Before his at-bat with the bases loaded in a tied game in the top of the eighth inning, Catholic High second baseman Edward Henriquez said he already saw such an instance materializing.
“(Catholic) Coach (Brad) Bass is big on visualizing your moment,” Henriquez said. “All week I’ve been thinking about coming up big in a game and it came to fruition.”
Top-seeded Catholic loaded the bases with one out against John Curtis reliever Juan Washington when Henriquez lined a hit that hit the foul line in left-field and went into the corner on that side of the field. His first hit of the game cleared the bases and helped send the Bears to a 7-5 victory Friday and close out their Division I select quarterfinal against No. 9 John Curtis at Grizzly Field.
“I hit it, and I went blank,” said Henriquez, who has signed with Alvin (Texas) Community College. “I saw it and just started running.”
Catholic High (33-5), the nation’s No. 40 ranked team by MaxPreps, shut out John Curtis 4-0 on Thursday and ended the Patriots’ season for the fourth straight season. The Bears will host the winner of the Jesuit-St. Thomas More series in next week’s semifinal round.
There were four lead changes and a tie in the extra-inning game that lasted three hours.
John Curtis (24-14), the designated home team, tied the game at 4-all in the seventh on an sacrifice fly from pinch-hitter Sean Goodrum. Catcher Jeffrey Curtis was 2 for 3 with a team-high three RBIs.
“This has been a microcosm of our season,” Curtis coach Jeff Curtis. “Nothing’s been easy for us, and it certainly wasn’t easy tonight. We pushed and pushed and gave ourselves a chance. That’s all you can do.”
Curtis starter Bryce Hebert (5-6) pitched into the eighth, reaching 112 pitches when he walked Andrew Clapinski and allowed a double to Harrison Kidder. He allowed five hits, walked four and hit four batters before giving way to Washington.
Following a strikeout and intentional walk to Lucas Lawrence, who homered and drove in four runs, Henriquez delivered with the go-ahead hit on a 1-0 pitch.
Curtis scored a run in the bottom of the eighth on an infield single and error when Catholic senior Bennett Smith (3-0) stranded the potential tying runs with a pair of fly balls to the outfield. He worked three innings in relief of fellow reliever Hayes Segar, allowing two runs on three hits and a walk.
“He’s a senior that’s waited and worked for the opportunity he got tonight,” Bass said of Smith. “Give them credit, there were three loud outs to end that game. Bennett did a good job to come in and keep it where it was and got the win.”
Lawrence, who threw a four-hit shutout in Thursday’s 4-0 opener, had a two-run homer in the second — his first of the season — and his two-run single in the sixth gave the Bears a 4-3 lead.
“They showed heart, we showed heart,” Henriquez said. “We both did everything we could. We were able to get the key hits in the key moments.”
