Yes, that sentence is very real. As is the baseball being played across the state of Texas in the Texas Collegiate League, also known as the TCL. The 10 team league is aimed at showcasing the skill sets of some promising prospects from across the country in a “minor-league” setting, including using wooden bats. A league that your Flying Chanclas de San Antonio are apart of.
The Flying Chanclas de San Antonio took on an I-35 foe, the Round Rock Hairy Men, in another series of TCL play. The games were split with two games being in San Antonio [7/10 and 7/12] and one in Round Rock [7/11]. Over the three games, these young men did everything but disappoint their schools or the Chanclas uniform. The Chanclas found success the plate combining for 28 runs scored over the three games. Additionally, the pitching staff dominated, tallying 30 strikeouts and only giving up 6 runs over the series.
Game 1:
Lead by pitching coach Calvin Schiraldi, a fabled former player for the University of Texas and current head coach at St Michael’s in Austin, The Flying Chanclas pitching staff put on a clinic over the series as they dominated each game from start to finish. Logan Garza [OLLU] got the nod in game one, going for 3 innings and giving up one run on four hits. Arturo Guajardo [UTSA] and Matthew Sesler [Texas A&M-Kingsville] would relieve Garza combining for 7 strikeouts with no hits allowed. When asked what was the key to his and the team’s success, Sesler said “Changing up the looks threw the betters off.”
The pitching staff was not the only group carrying their own weight in game one as the offense was about to put 5 runs on the board in the first three innings. With three early base hits in the second inning, Round Rock would then walk in two batters. Leyton Berry [UTSA] would hammer home the victory as he belted a home run to right field, which gave the Flying Chanclas a 7-1 lead going into the 8th. This would prove to be enough as the Chanclas walked away with a game one victory with a score of 7-2.
Game 2:
Game two of the series took place at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. However, when looking at the score, it didn’t seem to make any difference to the Flying Chanclas. San Antonio’s own Derek Klosowski [Midland College] started game two and would give up 2 runs on 6 hits. The three pitchers to follow would only give up one more run, this coming in the 8th off of Flying Chanclas pitcher Zach Deleon [RGV].
Down 2-0 after the third inning, the Flying Chanclas bats came to life as they put up 5 runs in the middle innings. A two-out single by catcher Tyler Larue [Grayson College] would score both Jalen Battles and Ryan Flores [UIW]. The Chanclas would then score another incredible 10 runs over the 8th and 9th innings. Grant Smith [UIW] would also hit a two-RBI single in the top of the 9th, which would see a total of 6 runs on 6 hits. The offensive production combined with the shutdown pitching of the Flying Chanclas would see the club walk away with their second victory of the series with a final score of 15-3.
Game 3:
The third and final game of this series, back in San Antonio, Texas, saw Lance Lusk [Sam Houston] start on the bump for the Flying Chanclas. Over four innings, Lusk only gave up one run on three hits while racking up 5 strikeouts and one walk. The Chanclas would only need two pitchers to relieve Lusk. Another San Antonio native, Tyler Flores [Texas A&M-Kingsville] went three innings giving up no hits and no walks while having 4 strikeouts. To get the save and finish out the game, Connor Schmidt [St. Marys] pitched the last two innings giving up one hit and managed to strike out one batter giving the team a total of 10.
The Flying Chanclas offense in this game was nothing short of consistent, scoring in all but three innings. Lee Thomas [UIW] had a huge game, going 2-4 with a double in the 6th which scored one, and a triple in the 8th which scored another bringing his season total to 5 this far. Grant Smith [UIW] would tack on another insurance run, his 4th RBI of the year, in the bottom of the 8th with a SAC fly to center field. The Flying Chanclas de San Antonio would finish this game up with a victory of 6-1, wrapping up a sweep of the Round Rock Hairy Men. After the sweep, the Chanclas holds a record of 7-4
The Flying Chanclas will have a 6 game stand against the Victoria Generals. First, the Chanclas will play three away games, July 14th through the 16th, and will then come home for three games, July 17th through the 19th. The link for tickets will follow below. Additionally, a link will be added detailing the precautions taken by the ballpark and their staff in light of the novel COVID-19 of the coronavirus.
