Baseball: Porter Rallies, Falls In Third Round To College Station

NAVASOTA — Porter appeared to grab the momentum late, but College Station answered right back to grab a 4-2 win and complete a sweep of the Spartans in a best-of-3 Class 5A baseball regional quarterfinal series Friday at Rattler Field.

Porter (22-16) ended its season in the third round for the second time in three seasons after the 2020 season was cut short by the COVID-19 pandemic. College Station (27-9-2) will play either top-ranked Friendswood or Port Neches-Groves in the regional semifinals at a time and place to be determined.

“They fought all year,” Porter head coach Wayne Ralph said. “We had a heck of a senior group. We told them how much we care about them and to keep their heads up. They never got down and tied the game up. We just came out on the short end today.”

College Station starter Blake Binderup had allowed just two hits and struck out nine Porter batters through five innings, leaving the Spartans looking puzzled at the plate. Porter senior Conner Westenburg sparked the offense in the sixth with a single up the middle. Zane Adams followed with a walk to give Porter its best scoring chance.

Three batters later, Colby Christian smashed a two-out, two-run double to left-center field to tie the game and give Porter the momentum.

It was short-lived as College Station, which didn’t have a hit at that point despite scoring two runs in the third, reeled off four straight singles, one of which was a run-scoring hit to left from Binderup to put College Station on top 3-2. Danny Virgl later added a sacrifice fly to extend the Cougars’ lead to 4-2.

Porter’s Domynic Cassell led off the seventh with an infield single, bringing the tying run to the plate, but Binderup induced a flyout and struck out the last two to put the finishing touches on a complete game. Binderup, a junior who is committed to Texas A&M, allowed just five hits and struck out 11.

“Binderup was extremely efficient throughout the game,” College Station head coach Chris Litton said. “He ran into some trouble in the sixth, but he continued to pound the zone. Ultimately, after we got past that, he was back cruising again.”

Porter relief pitcher Chase McMillan pitched 3 ⅔ solid innings, getting out of two jams with minimal damage to give the Spartans a chance to get back in the game. McMillan came in with one out and Porter trailing 1-0 in the third inning after starter Jace Russell had hit or walked four straight batters. McMillan gave up a sacrifice fly to Chanden Scarmardo and induced a fly out to get out of the jam trailing just 2-0.

Following the four straight singles in the sixth, McMillan got a strikeout and gave up a sacrifice fly before Seth Sherlock caught a College Station runner stealing for the final out, keeping Porter within striking distance for its last at-bat. McMillan allowed two runs on four hits with two strikeouts.

“He’s done this all year,” Ralph said of his senior pitcher. “We’ve called on him to come in in tight situations. He doesn’t throw as hard as everyone else, but he’s got great off-speeds and knows how to pitch. It’s crucial to have a guy that has three pitches that can come in and throw them all as strikes.”

Christian led Porter with two hits, including the two-RBI double. Cassell went 1 for 2 with a walk and a stolen base.

Porter graduates seven players who saw action Friday — Conner Westenburg, Sherlock, Christian, McMillan, Cassell, Russell, Cassell and Bailey Dromgoole — but returns a strong core led by sophomore Zane Adams, who struck out nine over six innings in a 2-0 loss to College Station in the opener Thursday.

“The seniors have created a legacy at Porter,” Ralph said. “We’ve got a young team with a lot of sophomores that started, and this is playoff experience that they gained. I think what they learn from this will carry on to next year and build something even more special.”