Midway Claims First 6A State Baseball Title with 6–2 Victory Over Atascocita
The Midway Panthers captured their first baseball state championship since 2003—and their first ever at the Class 6A level—with a 6–2 triumph over Humble Atascocita on Saturday, June 7, at Dell Diamond.
Junior pitcher Brody Potts came up big in relief, throwing 4⅔ scoreless innings and earning Most Valuable Player honors for the Class 6A Division I state tournament, as announced by the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association. Potts scattered three hits, struck out four, and retired 13 of the 18 batters he faced to shut the door on any Atascocita comeback.
“I just wanted to keep it simple—go out and play baseball,” Potts said after the game. “Fastball, slider, stay on the outer half, let them hit it on the ground or pop it up. That plan really paid off.”
Potts wasn’t the only Panther to earn recognition. He was joined on the All-Tournament Team by four teammates: junior first baseman Jackson Goldstritch, senior third baseman Dru Ohmstede, senior shortstop TJ Woodson, and junior outfielder Canyon Martin.
Midway (33–8) set the tone early, grabbing a first-inning lead thanks to two-out RBI hits from Tyler Seith and Martin. Though Atascocita briefly tied it in the second, the Panthers responded quickly and held a 4–2 advantage by the time Potts took the mound in the third.
One of the game’s most dramatic moments came in the fifth, when Atascocita had a runner on third with no outs. That threat was erased by one of the rarest plays in baseball—the hidden ball trick. After a misfired pickoff attempt, Ohmstede acted as if he had returned the ball to Potts, then calmly tagged the runner once he stepped off the base.
“I wasn’t even sure what happened,” Potts admitted. “I thought I had the ball. I got to the mound and realized my glove was empty—and by the time I looked up, Dru had already made the play. Unreal.”
Ohmstede confirmed it was a solo decision. “That was all me. I figured I had to try something. Brody didn’t even know I had the ball. Just glad it worked.”
That heads-up play proved crucial. Two batters later, Atascocita singled—an at-bat that might’ve tied the game if not for Ohmstede’s trickery.
The Panthers extended their lead in the sixth with RBI singles by Goldstritch and Woodson, giving Potts the cushion he needed to finish things off. The final out triggered a pile-up of jubilant Panthers in the infield as decades of anticipation gave way to celebration.
Several players contributed at the plate: Woodson, Ohmstede, Martin, and David Litle each collected two hits, while Seith led with two RBIs. Senior Brady Quinn, headed to McLennan Community College, started the game and worked into the third before handing things off to Potts.
Midway head coach Eddie Cornblum praised both the performance and character of his squad.
“This team means everything,” Cornblum said. “They’re a special group—not just for their talent on the field, but for who they are off it. They come from great families, and it’s been an honor to coach them. This is something we’ll all remember forever.”
