Corpus Christi London survives thriller, wins Texas 3A DI baseball state championship; live scoring, updates, recap

Pirates survive wild see-saw battle; Zak Garcia pitches two perfect innings in relief with 3 strikeouts to help London nail down program's second title

Levi Payton | Jun 5, 2025

London’s Zak Garcia helped secure the Class 3A Division I state championship on Thursday night, coming on in a 1-run game and pitching two perfect innings to with three strikeouts to earn the save. / Angela Piazza/Caller-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The Class 3A Division I state final between Texarkana Liberty-Eylau and Corpus Christi London is set for 7 p.m. Thursday at Dell Diamond.

Defending champion Liberty-Eylau (36-4) is back in the state final for the second straight year and chasing its third state title. The Leopards dropped three of their first five games this season but haven’t lost since April 5 and have gone 33-1 over their last 34. They’ve swept every opponent in the playoffs and enter with a 10-0 postseason mark. Senior arms Dylan Nabors (11-0) and Triston Haugh (10-2), along with junior Maddax Moore (9-0), give them one of the deepest pitching staffs still playing.

London (34-6) rolls into the final with a 13-game win streak. The Pirates have outscored their playoff opponents 96-12 and feature a mix of senior experience and standout underclassmen. Christian Olivares (.516), Aiden Salinas (.500) and JJ Villegas (.440) lead a balanced offense that has produced double-digit runs in seven of nine playoff games. On the mound, London can go to any of four arms with at least eight wins, including seniors Noah Cervantes (9-0), Zak Garcia (8-0) and Ethan Ortega (10-3).

Both teams have been here before. This is the fifth state tournament trip for each, and London is looking to add to its 2016 championship. The difference could come down to which staff handles the pressure of the big outs late in a one-game title matchup. Liberty-Eylau’s roster is filled with seniors who were part of last year’s title run, while London’s group has relied on big moments from both its upperclassmen and young core.

Keep up with High School On SI – Texas throughout the week for full coverage of every UIL state final from Round Rock, including more previews, live blogs and updates from all 11 championship games.

We encourage you to bookmark and share this page, then come back and refresh often once the game starts, as we will be posting live scoring, updates and highlights from the game as it happens in the expandable space below.

You can also follow the game live (fee required) on NFHS Network.

Liberty-Eylau vs. London: Texas high school Class 3A DI baseball state championship; live scoring, recap

Starting lineups

Corpus Christi London

Aiden Salinas, SS; Zak Garcia, 3B; RJ Olivares, 2B; Christian Olivares, C; Max Carreon, DH; Ethan Ortega, P; Connor Clary, RF; Zach Tyrone, CF; JJ Villegas, LF; Dax Williams, 1B.

Texarkana Liberty-Eylau

Britian Pipes, SS; Eli Jarvis, Triston Haugh, P; 1B; Collin Evans, CF; Dylan Nabors, 3B; Gabe Jarvis, C; Cade McCleod, DH; Maddax Moore, 2B; Arian Taylor, RF; Will Tipton, LF.

Top 1: London 0, Liberty-Eylau 0

After about a 19 minute delay to the start of this game due to the previous game running a bit long, Aiden Salinas started the game with a line drive single into left for London and went to third on a 4-6-3 double play later in the inning.

RUN(s) - Aiden Salinas scored on a wild pitch to give London a 1-0 lead.

Liberty-Eylau got out of the inning when London pinch-runner Eric Ruiz swiped second, slid past the bag and was tagged out before he could get back on the bag.

Bottom 1: London 1, Liberty-Eylau 0

Britian Pipes drew a leadoff walk to start things for Liberty-Eylau.

Aiden Salinas made a nice backhanded stop deep in the hole at shortstop and got the out at second on a fielder's choice to avoid giving Liberty-Eylau 2-on and nobody out. That play was really big, as the next batter, Triston Haugh, doubled to left to put runners at second and third with one out.

RUN(s) - Collin Evans grounds into a fielder's choice to score Gabe Jarvis, making it 1-1.

Top 2: London 1, Liberty-Eylau 1

Liberty-Eylau coach Zach Fowler isn't messing around. After two pitches to the first batter of the second inning miss the zone, he made a pitching change and went with right hander Maddax Moore, who was playing second base.

Ethan Ortega lined a 1-out single to right field for London.

RUN(s) - Zach Tyrone looped a single into shallow left to break the tie. London moved in front, 2-1.

The two-out rally ended on a soft liner to second base.

Bottom 2: London 2, Liberty-Eylau 1

A walk, wild pitch, balk and a hit batter gave Liberty-Eylau runners on the corners and a shot to make some noise with 1 out in the second.

RUN(s) - Liberty-Eylau scores a run on an obstruction call to tie it 1-1.

It's surprising the London coaching staff isn't losing its mind right now on the obstruction call. I have never seen anything like it, but the baserunner smartly tried to cause a collision with London's catcher when he was caught in a rundown between home and third. The runner, however, ran into the nfield grass, toward first base, collided with the catcher and then made a loop back toward home plate. The umpires agreed that the catcher, standing on the infield grass, caused the runner an obstruction. A very questionable call, but one that will stand and the game is tied.

RUN(s) - Britian Pipes lifts a sacrifice fly to right field and Liberty-Eylau grabbed a 3-2 lead with two outs.

Top 3: Liberty-Eylau 3, London 2

Following a hit batter and a fielder's choice, Christian Olivares pulls a grounder through the left side to give London runners at first and second with one out.

London stranded both runners, making that the first half inning without a run today.

Bottom 3: Liberty-Eylau 3, London 2

London starter Ethan Ortega worked around a walk to with two strikeouts to get through the third inning unscathed.

Top 4: Liberty-Eylau 3, London 2

JJ Villegas smacked a 2-out double to center, but the potential tying run was wasted when he got thrown out on a fielder's choice at third base on a grounder to shortstop for the third out of the inning.

Bottom 4: Liberty-Eylau 3, London 2

Maddax Moore smacked a 1-out single to center to give Liberty-Eylau some life in the fourth, but a tapper back to the pitcher and a pop up on the infield ended the inning.

Top 5: Liberty-Eylau 3, London 2

London got something cooking in the fifth, as Zak Garcia reached on a throwing error and stole second with nobody out. RJ Olivares followed with a walk to put runners at first and second.

RUN(s) - Christian Olivares doubled when left fielder Will Tipton came up just short on a diving attempt in left field. A run scored on the play to tie it 3-3.

RUN(s) - Max Carreon lifted a go-ahead sacrifice fly to left for the inning's first out. London grabbed a 4-3 lead.

After Zach Tyrone just missed a double down the line in left, Maddax Moore strikes him out to end the inning.

Bottom 5: London 4, Liberty-Eylau 3

London pitcher Ethan Ortega was fired up after getting a strikeout to end the fifth inning, and rightfully so. The 1-2-3 inning came at a vital moment after his team just took the lead back.

Top 6: London 4, Liberty-Eylau 3

After none all game, the teams combined for back-to-back 1-2-3 half innings, as Moore rebounded with a strong showing to open the sixth after Ortega did the same to end the fifth.

Bottom 6: London 4, Liberty-Eylau 3

Dylan Nabors draws a leadoff walk and senior Ethan Ortega exits the game after 85 pitches to a large roar from the Pirates faithful. Ortega, who pitched very well, finished with an odd line - allowing 3 runs on only 2 hits. Zak Garcia came in to pitch.

A sacrifice bunt moved Nabors - representing the tying run - to second base with 1 out.

Garcia came up in a huge spot for London, getting a weak grounder to second before catching Moore looking to end the inning.

Top 7: London 4, Liberty-Eylau 3

Moore worked a 1-2-3 seventh inning to send Liberty-Eylau to the plate with three outs remaining to decide the state champion.

Bottom 7: London 4, Liberty-Eylau 3

Garcia coaxed a grounder to third for the first out of the inning, then got back-to-back strikeouts to end the game. Corpus Christi London wins the Class 3A Division I state championship.

Final: Corpus Christi London 4, Liberty-Eylau 3

RECAP

While the offense fought to manufacture runs, pitchers Ethan Ortega and Zak Garcia deserve a lot of credit for keeping Liberty-Eylau's offense at bay long enough to get the win. In his final game, Ortega went out on top, walking off to a large roar from the crowd after gutting through 5 innings where he allowed 3 runs on only 2 hits with 3 walks and 3 strikeouts. Garcia came on and was lights out - pitching two high-leverage (and perfect) innings with three strikeouts and no walks to preserve the lead.