ROUND ROCK, Texas — The Valley Mills Eagles are state champions after handing Shiner its only loss of the season, 4-2, in the Conference 2A State Championship game.
The win gives the Eagles their first baseball state title since 1992.
Starting pitcher Cooper Ewing threw 5.0 innings. He did not allow a single earned run and struck out six Shiner batters, despite struggling with cramping in his legs throughout the game.
Ewing was replaced in the fifth inning by Kaleb Kuligowski, who allowed just one hit in 2.0 innings. Kuligowski struck out a batter with the bases loaded and two outs to escape the fifth inning without allowing a run.
Ewing returned to pitch the final inning of the game, striking out AJ Patek for the final out.
Valley Mills is the first baseball program from Central Texas to win a state championship since Clifton in 2018.
