The Boerne Champion gave it their all until the end.

The Chargers trailed by four runs against Liberty Hill at the start of the bottom of the seventh inning and required a significant comeback.

Champion right-fielder Owen Kuhl extended the innings significantly by tripling and bringing Pearce Kelly home from first base without any outs. Additionally, sophomores Kuhl and centerfielder Cal Isley managed to score runs before Liberty Hill’s pitcher, Carson Sharp, recorded the last two outs of the match.

After the rally concluded, Champion fell just short with an 8-9 defeat in an elimination match on Friday afternoon at North East Sports Park.

To keep the best-of-three series alive, the Chargers had to secure a victory on Friday following their defeat against the Panthers with a score of 1-0 in the opening game of the Class 5A Division II regional final playoff series on Thursday evening at Concordia University in Austin.

“If you’re going to fall, do so while putting up a fight like that,” stated Boerne Champion coach Ben Woodchick.

The Boerne Champion concludes their season with an overall record of 29-10 and shares the district championship title for District 26-5A. Meanwhile, Liberty Hill will be competing against either Kingwood Park or Nederland in the state semifinals next week.

Although the week did not end the way that his team wanted it do, Woodchick takes pride in the effort that his players put in to keep their season going.

When you’re in that scenario, you have to focus pitch-by-pitch and advance runners. We managed to figure out how to do this and came through with some crucial hits. Before we knew it, we were presented with another opportunity. That’s really all we could hope for.

The Chargers trailed 3-0 in the first inning after Sharp hit a three-run homer. Champion responded when senior left fielder Sawyer Smith launched a four-run homer of his own to put the Chargers on top, 4-3.

“Our big innings came early and late,” Woodchick said. “We ran out of time there at the end.”

The middle innings were the difference in the series. The Chargers scored one run through the second and fifth innings.

“The middle frames were challenging,” Woodchick stated. “We provided them with too much opportunity. We committed slight errors that might go unnoticed during the game. They managed to move around the bases quite often in those central innings and took control of them. Their continuous scoring was relentless; they put up runs consecutively for three innings and created some distance between us.”

Even though their season ended on a difficult note, the Chargers have solid grounds for another impressive playoff run next year thanks to their returning roster. Kuhl, Isley, and designated hitter Jaedyn Yamaguchi—who occupied the top three spots in Boerne Champion’s batting order on Friday—are either sophomores or juniors.

Kuhl went 3-for-4 at the plate Friday and drew a walk. Isley recorded a walk and two singles, while Yamaguchi also had a hit in the first inning.

“They’re going to have a lot of experience,” Woodchick said about his returning players. “And most importantly, they learned how to do things the right way. And that’s a testament to our seniors.”