ROUND ROCK — Jarett Boswell got a hit he will likely never forget.
With a state title on the line, his walkoff RBI single in the bottom of the seventh lifted Grapevine (40-5) to a 6-5 victory over Lovejoy (30-8-2) in the 5A state championship game on Saturday at Dell Diamond.
Lovejoy tied the game at 5-5 in the top of the seventh off RBI doubles by Garrett Hutchins and Reese Ogden.
But Boswell’s hit, plus Grapevine’s four runs in the bottom of the first inning and an additional one in the bottom of the fourth was just enough to outlast Lovejoy, which made its first appearance at the state tournament this year. With the win, Grapevine ended the Dallas-area 5A title drought. The last 5A baseball state champion from the Dallas area was Colleyville Heritage in 2019.
“Boswell, bless his heart, he’s done it all year, and he did it again,” Grapevine coach Jimmy Webster said.
GRAPEVINE WINS IT! Jarrett Boswell hits a walk off single to defeat Lovejoy 6-5 for the 5A state championship! @SportsDayHS @Gvinebaseball pic.twitter.com/9mskMoQr2x
— Myah Taylor (@t_myah) June 8, 2024
The rising senior earned game MVP honors for his 2-for-4, 2-RBI performance. He also scored a run. As a team, Grapevine outhit Lovejoy 9-7.
On the mound, JoJo Kubo (11-1) started for Grapevine, and reliever Luke Schreyer (12-2) took over in the top of the fourth inning. The duo combined for three strikeouts, with Kubo allowing four hits and Schreyer giving up three.
In the bottom of the first inning, Grapevine had three hits and scored four runs (two earned). An RBI single by Boswell scored leadoff hitter Sammy Kelley. Boswell advanced to second on a throwing error, pushing Peyton Tatum to third. Ryan Williams, the next batter up, walked. A wild pitch moved him to second and scored Tatum.
Lale Esquivel drove in Boswell on an infield out. Grapevine took a 4-0 lead on a sacrifice fly by Gianni Corral that scored Williams.
“Sammy had a really good game offensively. Tatum executed a bunch. Some things happened after that,” Webster said. “I thought that started the tempo, but then in the mid-innings, we lost a little bit of edge.”
The early Grapevine lead didn’t spook Lovejoy, which made the score 4-3 Grapevine in the top of the third inning.
First, Lovejoy leadoff Logan Corley doubled. Then, Oklahoma pledge Kyle Branch hit an RBI single. Designated hitter Asher Lacy doubled after that to drive in one run. Lovejoy earned its third run in the top of the third inning when Aarren Marshall reached first on a fielder’s choice and pinch runner Joey Brooks scored.
Lovejoy, which shut out 2023 5A state champion Magnolia West 4-0 in the 5A state semifinal on Thursday, picked off four Grapevine base runners.
“It was very frustrating to me,” Webster said. “ ... I don’t know how much time they spend on that, ... but it was highly successful and it shut down our running game.”
Esquivel added another run to Grapevine’s tally in the bottom of the fourth when he tripled and eventually ran home after Zackary Goldstein went out on a sacrifice fly. Webster said that play gave Grapevine much-needed momentum.
Grapevine pulled off a miraculous 2-1 victory over Leander Rouse in the 5A state semifinal on Thursday, winning in the bottom of the seventh inning when Brenton Lee reached on a fielder’s choice and advanced to second on a throwing error. The bases were loaded ahead of that play, which resulted in two runs. Grapevine won its previous and only state championship in 2016 and was a state finalist in 2017.
Just two seasons ago, Grapevine only won 10 games.
“We turned that 10 into 33 last year and we were 40-5 this year,” Webster said. “I’m so proud of last year’s seniors and then this group to be able to get out of the funk we were in and then turn it around to get 73 wins in two years.”
Twitter: @t_myah
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