London baseball holds off Huntington to punch ticket back to Round Rock

The London baseball team is headed back to Round Rock to defend its crown.

The defending Class 3A Division I state champs punched their ticket back to Dell Diamond with a 7-6 victory against Huntington in Game 3 of the 3A-DII state semifinals on Saturday, May 30, at Buda Hays High School.

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London built a five-run lead before holding off a late Huntington comeback to secure the dramatic victory.

London Pirates: Behind timely hits, Huntington tops London baseball to even series

How the game unfolded

The Pirates grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first inning when JJ Villegas walked, stole second and scored on Aiden Salinas' sacrifice fly.

London broke the game open in the third behind Christian Olivares delivered a key two-run double. Max Carreon followed with an RBI double, and Cristian Villegas added another RBI double to give the Pirates a 5-0 lead.

Huntington answered in the fourth inning with a pair of runs, but the Pirates responded behind Salinas, Dax Williams and Carreon, who made it a 7-2 game.

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The Red Devils rallied for three runs in the fifth inning before loading the bases in the seventh.

Salinas pitched around the threat to help send the Pirates back to the state title game in Round Rock.

Williams, Carreon, and Villegas combined for six of London's 10 hits.

What's next?

The Pirates will play for their third state championship in program history when they meet Boyd at 4 p.m. Thursday, June 4 at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.

LONDON 7, HUNTINGTON 6

W — Elijah Acosta; L — Marcus Johnson; S — Aiden Salinas

Highlights — London, Cristian Villegas 2-3, 2 R, RBI, 2B; Max Carreon 2-4, R, 2 RBI, 2B; Dax Williams 2-4, R, RBI; Aiden Salinas 1-2, 2 R, RBI, BB; Christian Olivares 1-4, 2 RBI, 2B; J.J. Villegas 1-1, 2 R, RBI, 3 BB; Charles Pompa 1-1, RBI; Elijah Acosta 4 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, BB, 2 K; Aiden Salinas 2.2 IP, 2 H, ER, BB, K

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: London baseball holds off Huntington rally to return to Round Rock