Mission Accomplished
Kingwood Park punches ticket to state
Joshua Koch
Nov 15, 2018, 5:00 am
Kingwood Park (38-11) is heading to its first-ever state tournament Vype
Originally appeared on Vype
HOUSTON – It was a moment they’ve been all working for.
Kingwood Park coach Kelly Miser, pacing the sidelines in a dark green dress with white polka-dotted dress, watched as junior Alia Williams – who had 11 kills – flew through the air, swung her right arm and sent the ball where no Friendswood defender could get it.
The players collapsed to the court into a dog-pile as their teammates rushed the court, Miser in the midst of the madness dropped to her knees and screamed in joy.
Kingwood Park, after falling in the 2017 Region III-5A Final, had come back to the very place they lost last year and punched its ticket to the UIL State Volleyball Tournament with a 3-1 (25-21, 24-26, 25-21, 25-17) victory against Friendswood on Saturday.
“That was the coolest moment of my career,” Miser said about watching her players celebrate on the court. “That made all the long hours, the work, everything they’ve put it; it just made it all worth while.”
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.