It was the bottom of the seventh inning, and Durant needed to get one out to win the district title. Starter Bryce Gainer had only given up three hits, but one man was on third. Luke Heyer took the mound, recognized Brandon’s squeeze play and helped get the final out, giving the Cougars their second district title in as many years.
Friday night, they put you on the mound to get the final out and you delivered. How did that feel?
It felt great knowing that I could seal a victory for my team, especially as a senior. We wanted to come back with some hardware, a district championship, because nothing’s for sure after that. Bing able to say I won districts as a senior felt pretty awesome.
Were you expecting to get subbed in there?
Yeah, I knew I was going to close. They were going to let (Bryce) Gainer go until he got into trouble and, when I saw Coach (Butch Valdes) walk up, I knew I was going in to hopefully seal the game.
It looked like you read their squeeze play correctly.
Our coach kept saying there was potential for that. I didn’t know quite well if that was happening, and our catcher, he thought that would have been strike three. So, he wasn’t really paying attention — he thought that the kid struck out, but the umpire never called him out. I saw the kid running, and I told him, I screamed at him to get that last out. Luckily, he did.
Before Friday, a lot of people thought that losing Tyler Danish meant that the Cougars weren’t so likely to win again. Now, here you are.
It makes us feel awesome, knowing we can do it without him. It felt great, winning it with him, but knowing that we could prove those people wrong that said that it was all because of him, it proves we are a true team.
Any college prospects lined up?
I’ve been talking to some schools, but nothing’s for sure yet. I’m hoping to find somewhere to go in the near future.
What are some of your hobbies outside of baseball?
We’ve been getting into some ping-pong. We play Kan-Jam — a frisbee game — and we all play Clash of Clans. We’re all in a pretty big clan, and we play that all the time. With ping-pong, it’s mainly in our last couple of periods. Me, Garrett (Wright), Tyler Long and Paxton (Sims), we all play. It gets pretty intense.
What’s your favorite food?
Candy. I eat a lot of candy. Skittles and Mike & Ikes — I like sweet, tangy stuff. I don’t like chocolate much.
Who’s your favorite athlete?
Albert Pujols. I just love the way he swings.
What’s your favorite baseball movie?
“For the Love of the Game.” Really great movie.
If you could play for any MLB team, which one?
Probably the Rays; it’s my hometown team. And, I could stay close to my friends and stuff.
Who on this team has the weirdest superstition?
As a team, when we get in the outfield, we talk about Carrie Underwood. She used to sing our national anthem, so we always talk about her when we hear the national anthem.