No. 1 Calallen's bats too much for No. 5 London in state-ranked baseball showdown

No. 1-ranked and undefeated Calallen (Class 4A) used a seven-run fourth inning to grab control of a competitive game and speed to a 10-0 run-rule win against Class 3A No. 5 London on Friday at Steve Chapman Field.

The battle of Corpus Christi heavyweights — schools that were both in the UIL State Tournament in 2024 — started out as a pitcher's duel as London's Ethan Ortega and Calallen's Coll Carroll squared off.

The Wildcats (15-0) manufactured a couple of early runs, striking first with a leadoff triple from Reese Rusher and an RBI double from Chase Lynch in the first.

They added to the lead when RJ Olivares made a nice grab of a sharply hit liner, but misfired on the throw to first base in the third inning, doubling the lead to 2-0.

London had baserunners in every inning until the sixth, but couldn't string together hits against Carroll, who allowed three hits and struck out seven.

The win capped an impressive two-week stretch for Calallen which included wins against state-ranked 6A foes Dallas Jesuit, Flower Mound Marcus and Dripping Springs along with ranked private school San Antonio Central Catholic.

"The (tough schedule) has helped us a lot," Carroll said. "We were underdogs almost every game last tournament. It fired up our team and made us want to win."

Short of a few at-bats Ortega was up to the challenge against Carroll on the mound, before the fourth inning changed the complexion of the game.

A walk and consecutive bunt singles from Jayden Cruz and Rusher set the table for the big inning. Gamez (RBI single) and Lynch (bases loaded walk) brought home runs before Blake Quinn double plated two more.

Drayton Mitchell put the cherry on top with a blast just in front of the scoreboard in right field for a three-run home run.

Quinn also finished with three RBIs after going 3-for-4 and Lynch was 2-for-3 with a pair of doubles and two RBIs.

London co-head coach Albert Amaya said even in a loss the Pirates (11-4) will be better for having faced Calallen.

"For us at this point of the season, we are going to learn from it," Amaya said. "That is the best team we've faced all year. They have great pitching, defense and are tough to strike out. We learned a lot about ourselves today and it will make us better."