Suns Knock Off Blazers for First Postseason Win in 3 Years
MESQUITE, Texas – Dallas College Cedar Valley upset Dallas College North Lake 11-2 in seven innings in the National Junior College Athletic Association Division III South Central District Tournament Wednesday.
The Suns (19-34) will move on to play host Dallas College Eastfield (41-13) at 11 a.m. Thursday in the double-elimination round.
It was Cedar Valley's first postseason win since its school-record 38-game winning 2023 season.
"It's been a minute," Suns' 20-year head coach Robert Dally said after his team pushed all the right buttons in a complete effort to knock off the No. 3-seeded Blazers, whose 27 wins were second most in the Dallas Athletic Conference this season.
Cedar Valley took a 4-1 lead in the second inning, using three straight hits at the bottom of its lineup to set up a two-RBI single to left by Easton Bettcher. North Lake's Oran Abel answered with an RBI groundout in the bottom half of the inning to cut the lead in half. But the Suns kept its offense in high-octane mode, cashing in for four more in the third on four hits to break the game open. Joshawa Esquivel had an RBI double. Elandis Taylor followed with a run-scoring single in the four-run third.
"I'm just proud of those guys," Dally said. "We've been through a lot this year. We had a lot of injuries. We know what we were up against. Watching them play today, they were flying around. They were playing with confidence. I loved it. They were hitting on all cylinders. All of the credit goes to my players."
Suns starter Christian Alcala worked the first four innings, allowing two runs on six hits and a walk. North Lake's Cyler Moore hit his school-record 14th home run of the season, but that was the only true touch up Alcala surrendered in an efficient performance to keep the Blazers' bats off balance.
Reliever Blake Brown (4-4) came on to shut the door over the final three innings and get the win. He allowed a hit and two walks, and struck out three in a scoreless relief appearance.
"They were just hitting their spots," Dally said of his pitchers. "They just kept pounding the zone. They were attacking the hitters. Credit to our defense, they were just making the plays."
Esquivel was 3 for 3 with two doubles and two RBI. Kai Kirchheiner was 2 for 3 with two walks, three RBI and a stolen base. Easton Bettcher doubled and singled twice, and drove in two runs in five plate appearances.
The Suns outhit North Lake 10-7. Blazers shortstop Bear Herak went 3 for 3, Moore was 2 for 2 with two walks, and Ruben Sosa had North Lake's other two hits.
Cedar Valley scored 10 of its 11 runs in bunches, plating at least three runs in three innings.
"I think it was a big relief the way our season has gone up and down all year," Dally said. "My guys played to their expectations, and I loved seeing it."