Doug Edwards Baseball

Brahmas shock No. 1 Unicorns

SPORTS Mac's Mario Siller gets to third safely as Unicorn third baseman Estevan Salazar can't handle the pick off throw from home. The ball went into the outfield and the runner got up and scored as MacArthur plays New Braunfels in baseball playoff action at Blossom baseball field on May 6, 2011. Tom Reel/Staff

SPORTS Brahma baserunner Andrew Huerta slips in for a score in the top of the 4th inning as Unicorn catcher Kale Slone can't get the ball around in time as MacArthur plays New Braunfels in baseball playoff action at Blossom baseball field on May 6, 2011. Tom Reel/Staff

MacArthur's best player has been injured for a month, the Brahmas reached the playoffs as a No. 4 seed, and they started a sophomore against one of the state's top-ranked teams on Friday.

It was the formula for one of the state's most improbable playoff upsets.

The Brahmas used one big inning and the arm of sophomore J.B. Martinez to beat New Braunfels 7-4, sweeping the Unicorns in their Class 5A first-round playoff series at Blossom Athletic Center .

“Nobody picked us to win, honestly,” said MacArthur coach Tom Alfieri , whose Brahmas also won Game 1 4-1 on Thursday. “Why would you? We were against a great opponent. I don't want to say we had nothing to lose, but it's true.”

MacArthur (20-12) lost its star player, Texas A&M-Corpus Christi signee Tyler Schnuriger, to a season-ending back injury in early April. The Brahmas also had a slump in district play that included a loss against Lee.

The adversity was well in the past on Friday, when the Brahmas busted the game open with a five-run third inning.

MacArthur had five straight hits off Unicorns ace Ralph Garza (8-1), handing Garza his first career loss in 14 decisions.

New Braunfels (28-6) was the Express-News' top-ranked team and No. 7 in the state.

“Our bats and our pitching were hot, and we had Ralph going in a must-win situation,” New Braunfels coach Doug Edwards said. “It's unfortunate a season this good had to end this early.”

One key to MacArthur's rise is the emergence of Martinez, who threw a complete game with eight strikeouts.

Martinez got Garza to strike out swinging to end the game, improving to 9-0 with a 2.55 ERA.

“J.B.'s the one who took over when Tyler went down,” said catcher Tommy Moore , who scored twice on Friday. “We're so proud of the way he's stepped up.

Harmon Killebrew Will Leave Lasting Legacy on Baseball As His ...

When Jim Thome homered in his first at-bat last July 3 against Tampa Bay, it tied him with Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew for 10th on the all-time list. When Thome went deep again in his second at-bat, thus moving past the former Minnesota Twins and Washington Senators great, he got a gift.

Killebrew suddenly appeared on the big screen at sparkling Target Field to deliver a congratulatory note to Thome. When it was over, the ovation for Killebrew far surpassed those for the current Twins slugger, and Thome knew why.

"That's something that will go down in my book as one of the better moments in my career," Thome said. "He's a legend and a legendary person, too. That's what makes it even better."

Search far and wide and you won't find someone who can disagree with Thome's assessment of Killebrew, who passed away Tuesday at the age of 74. With his passing, the game lost a true gentleman, a power hitter with few equals and someone who showed incredible grace amid a PED-induced onslaught on his numbers, and of those who played alongside him, all while remaining staunchly opposed to what he called "a cloud over the game."

Killebrew slugged 573 home runs, many of them during the rise of the pitchers in the mid- to late-1960s. When he hammered 44 in 1967, winning the fourth of five American League home run crowns, only three others even surpassed 25. When he hit 49 in 1964, nobody else in the AL even reached 40. Nobody hit more home runs in the 1960s, and when Killebrew retired in 1975, only one player -- Babe Ruth -- had more home runs in AL history.

While toiling in a market and for a team that did not receive much national attention, the man known as "Killer" established a reputation as a genteel figure who continued to gain respect long after his playing days were done. Although considered a soft-spoken man, Killebrew's words on steroids, which enabled many of the men who passed him on the home run list to reach such heights, had an impact.

"Baseball is made up of statistics, as you know, and they’re completely changed now," Killebrew said in an interview in 2009. "And that’s a sad thing. I mean it's fine, people say to me, 'Don't you feel bad when guys pass you up?' And I say, 'Well, I passed up a lot of guys myself along the way. That's the way baseball is.' But to have it done in not a very proper way [isn't right], I think all the [former] players have that feeling.

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