ROUND ROCK – Dell Diamond was the site of the 2A-3A- 4A Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association All-Star Game on Saturday, June 17, with 2023 graduates Cohen Tyree of Taylor High School and Nathan Tucker of Granger High School playing. Tyree of the Ducks and Tucker of the Lions put on their respective home uniforms for the last time as the duo represented the South team together.
“I’m so stoked,” Tyree said last week in an interview with area editor Jason Hennington on Around the Watercooler. “I’ll be playing third base and it’ll be very good baseball and a very good game.”
After a 1-2-3 first inning by both teams, Tyree came up to bat in the top of the second inning and was hit by the very first pitch that he saw during the game. The star Taylor third baseman would eventually make his way to third base after two wild pitches thrown by the North starting pitcher but Tyree was ultimately left in scoring position.
Since this was an all-star game and the players got to play nine innings instead of just seven, the coaches from each team were rotating different defensive lineups in every inning. In the bottom of the second inning, Tucker got in the game in right field and made an impact. With two outs, a North player hit a ball deep into the outfield but Tucker was able to cover a lot of ground and make a great catch for the third out of the inning.
After a South leadoff walk drawn by Jackson Glymph of Nacogdoches Central Heights, the South scored the first run of the game thanks to a sacrifice fly by Connor Cuff of Carthage to make it 1- 0. The lead for the South was short-lived as the North had back-to-back RBI doubles in the bottom of the third inning to take a 2-1 lead.
However, this was the last time during
the game that the North had any lead as the South would take control of this contest going forward. In the top of the fourth, Cale Cochran of Marble Falls hit a two-run single that put the South ahead 3-2.
Tyree came up to bat for the second time during the top of the fifth inning. With a runner on base, Tyree smacked a ball hard in the infield but unfortunately, it was right at the North shortstop who turned a double play. The South went on to score a run via error that inning and the lead was up to 4-2.
Tucker would get his first at-bat of the game with one out in the top of the sixth inning. He battled against the North pitcher to work a full count but would eventually strike out.
The seventh inning would have the South extend its lead to 6-2 as the team got RBIs from Brady Henke of Weimar and Nathanyl Herrera of Banquete.
After Tucker popped out in his second atbat of the game, his South teammate Mason Kirk of China Spring smacked an RBI double into the left-field gap to make it 7-2 in the eighth inning. Tyree would also get one more at-bat in the top of the ninth frame and came very close to hustling out an infield single but was thrown out just in time.
With an 8-2 lead heading into the bottom of the ninth inning, Tucker was in for his second inning at catcher with Tyree also in at third base.
Tucker made an outstanding defensive play this inning. With a North runner at third base, a batter hit a ball to South first baseman Jaquae Stewart of Sinton. He promptly threw the ball to Tucker, who made a fantastic play to tag out the runner at home.
For the final out of the game, Ryan Peterson of Shiner struck out a North batter swinging and Tucker went out to the mound to give him a hug as the South won the game 8-2.
Congratulations to both Cohen Tyree and Nathan Tucker on their incredible baseball careers for Taylor High School and Granger High School, respectively.
