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Anderson pitcher Vinny Franco throws in the fourth inning of the District 24-5A game between the McCallum Knights and Anderson Trojans at Northwest Pony Field, March 31, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
Darek Paiz soaked in the atmosphere one last moment.
Though Paiz, Anderson’s senior catcher, just finished playing rival McCallum at Northwest Pony Field on Tuesday for only the second time in his career — the series took a pause when Anderson jumped to Class 6A from 2022-24 — he took a moment to appreciate what he just experienced.
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McCallum’s Robert Grona bats in the second inning of the District 24-5A game between the McCallum Knights and Anderson Trojans at Northwest Pony Field, March 31, 2026. (Sara Diggins/Austin American-Statesman)
“This is just unreal,” said Paiz, after his Trojans won a District 24-5A game 14-1 in six innings. “I mean, last year as a junior was just like this. It’s loud, exciting and energetic. We’re all in the game and picking each other up. … And this being my last time, it’s just great (being here).”
Somewhat hidden off Shoal Creek Boulevard in Northwest Austin, the field — which has its stands and press box built into the side of a hill and is probably most famously known for being featured in the movie “Dazed and Confused” — sees a raucous environment and standing-room only crowd when the two longtime neighboring rivals meet.
And though any drama was taken out of Tuesday’s contest when Anderson scored six runs in the second inning, the event still held up as one of the better high school sports scenes in the Austin area.
“It’s just awesome,” said Connor Comeau, Anderson’s star shortstop who went 3-for-3 with two doubles, a walk, five RBIs and was hit by a pitch. “You just take a second to look up at the away crowd and your home crowd. … There’s a lot of pride kids have at Anderson to be a Trojan and we bring that to baseball, basketball and football games. We support each other as a community and have fun as well.”
After Cooper Chitsey’s sacrifice fly put the Trojans on the board in the second, Comeau, who signed to play at Texas A&M next year, started a run of five straight Anderson hits with two outs with an RBI single. Paiz, Hank Rippy, Cade Cazin and James Cole all followed with run-scoring hits, which would be plenty for Trojans pitchers Vinny Franco and JJ Velasquez.
Franco scattered four hits and three walks in four innings, only giving up Max Satterwhite’s RBI double in the fourth, while Velasquez tossed two innings of scoreless relief.
“Vinny did well,” Anderson coach Kenny Matthews said. “He was a little nicked up coming into this week. He hurt his right shoulder (last week), but luckily he’s a lefty. We did some rehab stuff … and he gutted through four innings and gave us a chance to win.”
Comeau’s two-run double in the fifth put the Trojans ahead 8-1, then Rippy’s two-run single highlighted a six-run sixth where Anderson took advantage of four walks, two hit batters and an error.
“Anderson can hit,” said McCallum coach Trey Honeycutt, who has guided the Knights to the playoffs the last three years. “We made a few mistakes defensively and left some runners on base, but we’ll get it fixed.”
Rippy, a junior third baseman who is committed to Texas, finished with three RBIs, Bennett Wright went 3-for-3 and James Cole had two hits for the Trojans.
Anderson (16-7, 7-0) is the only undefeated team left in the district after LASA beat Bastrop on Tuesday. Comeau noted repeating as district champs would be nice, but that the team wants another long playoff run like a year ago when it reached the regional finals.
“We handled business tonight, and it feels good to catch barrels, but we have to do it when it matters, too,” he said.
McCallum (12-6-4, 5-2) was paced by Satterwhite and Alec Inocente, both of whom had two hits.
The rivals won’t have to wait long to meet again. They play Thursday at Nelson Field for their second district meeting.
“It’s good because it kind of gives our guys that playoff experience where you don’t have a big rest,” Matthews said. “You have to get back after it again and see who the better team is.”
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