Photo Gallery: Harleton beats Shiner in 2A Texas (UIL) Baseball State Championship
ROUND ROCK, Texas — In their first trip to the UIL Baseball State Tournament in nearly a decade, the Harleton Wildcats seized their opportunity to make school history.
Harleton came out of the gate firing on all cylinders against Shiner in the Class 2A UIL Baseball State Championship game Thursday afternoon at Dell Diamond.
The Wildcats surged ahead thanks to a huge second inning, weathered a lengthy lightning delay and then continued pouring it on to finish strong in a 10-5 victory over the Comanches, securing Harleton's first state title in program history.
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The loss snaps a 10-game postseason winning streak for Shiner (31-4), as the Comanches reached the UIL Baseball State Tournament but fell short of capturing a state title for the third consecutive season.
Shiner lost 4-2 to Valley Mills in the 2A state title game last year after starting the 2022 season 29-0, and the Comanches were defeated 14-1 by New Deal in the state semifinals two years ago.
Harleton (37-1), meanwhile, improves its postseason record to 12-1 with the victory and captures its first state championship in school history during the Wildcats' fourth trip to the UIL Baseball State Tournament since 1981.
Check out SBLive's exclusive photo gallery from the Class 2A UIL baseball state title game.
PHOTO GALLERY — HARLETON 10, SHINER 5
All photos by Andrew McCulloch