On Thursday, June 6, the Collinsville baseball team partied like it was 1999.
It was 1999 when the Pirates last won the state championship in baseball - until now. Collinsville (40-3) won its second state championship in program history and first since 1999 with a 9-0 victory over Hawley on Thursday at the Dell Diamond in Round Rock.
"It's unbelievable," Collinsville coach Derrick Jenkins said. "After the heartbreak last year to come in this year and really just dominate the last two games has been unreal."
Following Wednesday's 10-0 state semifinal win over Centerville, Jenkins mentioned that his lineup was solid from 1-9. His batters didn't disappoint.
Eight different Pirates recorded hits in Thursday's title game, including Cash Morgan. The junior left fielder went 3-3 with a walk, a double and two RBIs, which earned him the game's Most Valuable Player award.
"It's unreal (the MVP award)," Morgan said. "This is more about the team than me though. Coming into this, we were the No. 1 team in the state. We came in and got it done."
Senior Logan Jenkins earned the win on the mound. He gave up just four hits and one walk while striking out six in a complete-game performance.
"It's amazing. We fell short last year and from that moment on, all we thought about was getting back and finishing the job," Logan Jenkins said. "We trusted each other and had confidence in each other. That's why we're state champs."
Collinsville also proved to be aggressive on the base paths. While the Pirates were caught stealing three times and in rundowns twice, it was one of those rundowns that got them on the scoreboard in the bottom of the first inning.
Rylan Newman, who pitched a complete-game the night before, coaxed the Hawley defense into a rundown. Although Newman was eventually caught, Morgan scored the first run of the contest because of the mirage.
Collinsville added another run in the bottom of the second to make it a 2-0 lead. Peyton Davidson hit a single before making way for courtesy runner Chad Davidson, who later scored on a fielder's choice from Colin Barnes.
The Pirates tacked on three more runs in the bottom of the third to make it 5-0. Morgan hit a two-run single before scoring on a single from Garrett Trevino.
Collinsville added another run in the bottom of the fifth when Morgan scored on a groundout from Peyton Davidson. Morgan reached base on a single.
The Pirates added three more runs in the bottom of the sixth without recording a hit. Barnes reached on an error before Reed Patterson and Logan Jenkins walked to load the bases for Jaxon Jenkins, who sent Barnes home with a groundout.
Morgan walked to reload the bases before more crafty base running paid off. A wild pitch allowed Patterson to score and Logan Jenkins to advance to third before Morgan stole second, which led to Jenkins stealing home to execute a double-steal.
Hawley's best scoring threat took place in the top of the first. Aiden Romo drew a leadoff walk and advanced to third on a single from Keagan Ables.
After Ables stole second, the Bearcats had runners on second and third with one out. But Logan Jenkins struck out the next two batters to leave Romo and Ables stranded.
In addition to Morgan's performance at the plate, Barnes (1-3, RBI), Davidson (1-2, BB, RBI), Newman (1-3, HBP), Patterson (1-2, BB), Trevino (1-3, RBI), Jaxon Jenkins (1-4, RBI) and Logan Jenkins (1-2, BB, HBP) also contributed. Thursday's game was the final high school contest for six Collinsville seniors - Barnes, Newman, Patterson, Landon Carpenter, Logan Jenkins and Parker Wells - all of whom finished their high school playing days with gold medals around their necks.
"For this group to win a state championship and finish off like this is what we all dreamed about," Derrick Jenkins said. "These seniors are unreal. These six guys have propelled our program to what it is today. We'll be talking about these guys forever. Everybody that's around is going to know that they're the ones who started this. They really got us back on track."
After a 2-2 start to the season, the Pirates won 38 of their last 39 games, including 35 in a row. That streak ended with a Game Two loss to Valley Mills, but Collinsville bounced back to win Game Three of that series before reeling off two wins in the state tournament.
"We had a target on our back all season," Newman said. "It's amazing. We've been talking about this since we lost last year. It's amazing to get back here and win it. This senior class is special. We're really close. We had to stick together and play our game."
For Patterson, the son of Collinsville athletic director and head football coach Garrett Patterson, he became not only a state champion, but a second-generation state tournament participant. Garrett Patterson was a senior on the 1998 state semifinalist Pirates baseball team.
"It's unreal. We worked all year. We put our heads down and went to work," Reed Patterson said. "Hard work pays off. It's cool to get the chance to play in state, and it's a good way to end my career."
Pick up a copy of next week's Whitesboro News-Record for a special keepsake edition commemorating the historic season. It will be packed with player profiles and print-exclusive content.