Lake Travis tops Westwood 7-0 in Class 6A bi-district playoff game

It was worth the wait for Lake Travis.

Having their Class 6A bi-district playoff game with Westwood stopped in the middle of the third inning Friday night and postponed to Saturday afternoon, the Cavs showed no effects from the stop-and-start or the 17-hour layoff.

Lake Travis picked up where it left off and defeated the Warriors 7-0 at Westwood as OJ Gonzalez struck out eight in five innings to combine with Kadyn Leon for the shutout, Dylan Schlotterback crushed a three-run homer and both Hank Benny and Leon had RBI singles.

“We’re really happy with our guys right now,” said Lake Travis coach Ryan Rogers, who is in his first year of leading the program after many years as an assistant. “We faced a lot of adversity over the last 24 hours with trouble getting here last night, then the delay, but the kids responded really well. You never know what can happen in a one-game playoff, but the kids stayed locked in and handled everything great.”

As the lone one-game playoff in the area in Class 6A, the contest drew a massive crowd Friday.

More: Plenty of area baseball teams move on with bi-district series wins

The game’s key play came in the top of the third when Schlotterback belted a pitch over the wall in deep left-center to give the Cavs a 3-0 lead.

“It’s good to homer, but the more important thing is winning the game,” Schlotterback said. “We’re playing well as a team, and in that situation we set it up perfectly by getting two guys on, bunting them over, then it’s just a blessing for (the home run) to happen.”

Rogers noted that the third inning played out to near perfection for the Cavs.

“In an elimination game like this, it really just comes down to execution,” Rogers said. “You try to win those small moments throughout the game. In the third, all four of those guys executed at a high level, and that’s what you need in a one-game playoff.”

A few minutes later, the threat of lightning sent both teams home.

Gonzalez only yielded one hit in two innings Friday, but he came back arguably stronger Saturday, only having one Warrior reach — which came on a walk — in three innings.

“When I got home last night I did some postgame rehab, then went to the trainer this morning and got some (muscle treatment), then was just ready to come out here and compete,” he said. “You have some body aches from throwing the night before, but you just push through. My slider was working well. I was locating that in and out, and then I was pounding the zone with my fastball. Overall, the pitches felt good.”

More: Meet Hendrickson pitcher Jaden Bahl, our recent Faces off the field interview

The Cavs put the game away with a four-run sixth, as Benny and Leon had their run-scoring hits, Joseph Leoni had a sacrifice fly and Lake Travis took advantage of a walk, error and hit batter. Leon fanned three in closing out the final two innings for Lake Travis (26-6-2), which will play San Marcos in the area round.

“We’re just fighting for wins and going to play as long as we can,” Schlotterback said. “This is a fun team to play on, we all work hard and it’s a blessing to play with these guys.”

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: In a game played over two days, Lake Travis ousts Westwood in playoffs