Baseball is a big deal in Belton, and the memories and pride from the Tigers winning the Class 4A state championship in 1994 remain strong.
Coached by David Tidwell and powered by senior pitchers/shortstops Jason Regan and Brock Rumfield, Belton compiled a 35-6 record. The Tigers seized their only state baseball title by surviving three consecutive three-game playoff series and an extra-inning classic against Carthage in the state semifinals before beating Big Spring in the finale at the University of Texas' Disch-Falk Field in Austin.
Belton was forced to three games by Austin Westlake and then perennial Corpus Christi-area powers Robstown and Calallen. Riding Regan's right arm and their balanced offensive attack, the Tigers made it through all of those challenges to capture the Region IV championship.
Belton trailed Carthage in the bottom of the seventh inning but Regan -- who wielded impressive power despite his small stature -- blasted a dramatic, game-tying home run to keep the Tigers alive and force extra innings. Then in the eighth, Regan connected for a game-winning grand slam to give Belton its long-awaited -- and never-duplicated -- state championship.
The Tigers continued to enjoy plenty of success on the diamond under Tidwell through 2008 (Belton rose to 5A briefly in the late 1990s and then for good beginning with the 2003 baseball season) and Eddie Cornblum starting in 2009, making several deep pushes in the regional playoffs with teams that carried realistic state aspirations.
But Belton hasn't been back to the state tournament since that magical trek to the championship in 1994, making the memories of the Tigers' solitary triumph even more profound.
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