The Rangers have lost just three games since the start of May. Aledo stands is the last remaining opponent in their pursuit for UIL glory.
SAN ANTONIO — The Smithson Valley Rangers have never taken an at-bat, never fielded a fly ball, never hit the on-deck circle in the Texas UIL Baseball State Championship.
That changes Friday after they’ve gotten only as far as the semifinals in previous years.
The Rangers (27-12) will play for the Class 5A D-1 title against Aledo (31-8) in Round Rock, where they hope to continue their hot streak: Smithson Valley has gone 10-3 in the playoffs while outscoring opponents 63-37.
But their trip to the tournament’s biggest stage wasn’t always a sure thing.
“We had to win our last two district games just to get into the playoffs,” said head coach Chad Koehl.
The Rangers have been on quite the run since getting through playoff series against Corpus Christi Veterans Memorial, Palmview and Barbers Hill en route to booking their ticket to the 2025 title game.
“Our kids have just refused to lose at this point,” Koehl said.
“It is the most exciting baseball I’ve ever played,” said senior infielder Andrew Lunsford. “The guys are excited to be around the ballpark every single day and go out there and compete at gametime.”
The Rangers are also looking to keep up the momentum gathered by Smithson Valley’s football team, which won the Class 5A-D1 title on the gridiron in December.
Some of those championship-winning players are on the baseball team, having traded the football pads for the batting helmet, giving the baseball team an injection of fresh experience and motivation to win another trophy.
A win against Aledo would cap quite the athletic year for the Rangers.
“The fact that we are still playing two weeks into the summer with the guys is special,” said junior pitcher Jake Kirk.
This is the first year that the semifinals and finals aren’t being played back-to-back in Round Rock. That means both teams should be fresh and have full pitching staff depth for the winner-take-all state championship game.
“If the UIL only allows one game, then we are really excited about playing in that one game,” Koehl said. “The other option wouldn’t be that fun right now, which would be not playing at all.”
First pitch is set for 7 p.m. Friday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. The Rangers are playing at the minor league venue for the first time since 2021.