BELTON -- Brazos Christian center fielder John Yezak reached for the sky Saturday, almost as if he was pointing to his father, and pulled in the final out to clinch the Eagles' second straight TAPPS Class A baseball championship.

Brazos Christian played the 2008 season in memory of Leslie Yezak, John's father and the principal and athletics director at Brazos Christian for six years. Yezak was killed in an automobile accident in October.

On Saturday, the Eagles celebrated with a dog pile in center field at the University of Mary-Hardin Baylor's Red Murff Field after defeating district rival Huntsville Alpha Omega 4-2.

"It just meant a lot because of my dad," John Yezak said. "Today we just decided it was all for God and all for him, so we came out and we did what we came to do."

Yezak's catch came on a liner off the bat of Weston Lippe, the Lions' No. 3 hitter, with runners on first and second against reliever Michael Ford. With the two Lions running at the crack of the bat, Alpha Omega would've tied the score if not for Yezak reaching up and grabbing the final out.

"That was a little emotional for me because of Mr. Yezak," Brazos Christian head coach Rick Osborne said, adding that he's never seen a celebration in center field but enjoyed it all the same. "They wanted to go out there for John and celebrate it with him and be there for him because of his dad."

The Eagles (15-7) beat Alpha Omega 12-3 in last year's state title game. That team included John's brother Ryan, the team's MVP, and Leslie Yezak, who was Osborne's assistant.

On Saturday, Ryan Yezak, who plays for East Texas Baptist Universty, watched from the stands, and a framed photo of Leslie Yezak was set up against one of the posts in the dugout.

The Eagles used that motivation, and their speed, to rattle the Lions and score all four of their runs in the bottom of the third.

Down 2-0 with one out, Chad Milburn beat out an infield single, and Jacob Davis followed with a sharp single to left that bounced off the left-fielder's leg into the corner. Milburn scored easily from first, and Davis hustled around the bases and slid safely into third head first.

Ford walked and John Michael Toler followed with a squeeze bunt that scored Davis. No one covered first on the bunt, allowing Toler to reach safely.

A wild pitch moved the two runners up 90 feet. Ford then broke from third, and pitcher Joe Coleman stopped in the middle of his pitch for a balk. That scored Ford and put the Eagles up 3-2.

Scott Rabroker's ground ball to second plated Toler for the fourth and final run of the inning, and the game.

"We are going to stay aggressive because that's what our team is built around -- speed," Osborne said. "We don't have hitters all the way up and down the lineup that are going to mash the ball, even tough we did hit pretty well today against a good pitching club like Alpha Omega. For us to score runs we have to be aggressive and go after it."

Will Dunlap and a perfect defense did the rest.

Dunlap (7-3), a freshman, struck out eight, including the side in the second inning. He walked just one and gave up two runs on eight hits.

"I've been dreaming about this all season," Dunlap said. "Last year I was in the dugout for the state championship game on this field and after the game was over I said, 'Coach, I want to be here next year,' and here we are."

Dunlap threw 92 pitches, only two of which led to runs.

Neal Ritter, the Lions' second hitter of the game, stroked a home run just to the left of the 365-foot sign in left-center field for a 1-0 Alpha Omega lead.

"After it happened, I said, 'You know what, my defense is going to be behind me after this and my offense is going to get going,'" Dunlap said. "It kind of rattled me a little bit, but I settled down and got it done with my team."

Brian Ritter drove in Neal Ritter with a double in the third to give Alpha Omega a 2-0 lead.

Brazos Christian answered with four runs in the bottom of the third, and Dunlap cruised until the seventh.

Dunlap then gave way to Ford with two outs and a runner on first in the seventh. Ford walked Ritter on four pitches and got behind Lippe 2-0 before throwing a strike. He then induced the game-ending line drive.

NOTES -- Brazos Christian defeated Alpha Omega three out of four games this season. ... Brazos Christian's Nathan Toler picked off a runner at first base with a snap throw in the fourth inning, and third baseman Jacob Davis made a nice play going to his knee to field a one-hopper off the bat of Lippe in the fifth inning. ... Alpha Omega (9-6) had won the title three consecutive years from 2004-06.

Brazos Christian 4, Huntsville Alpha Omega 2

Alpha Omega 101 000 0 -- 2 8 2

Brazos Christian 004 000 x -- 4 7 0

Joe Coleman, Neal Ritter (4) and Brian Ritter; Will Dunlap, Michael Ford (7) and Nathan Toler. WP -- Dunlap (7-3); LP -- Joe Coleman; S -- Micheal Ford. 2B -- AO: Brian Ritter, BC: Scott Rabroker. 3B -- BC: Kyle Garrett. HR -- AO: Neal Ritter. Record: BC (15-7).

• Richard Croome's e-mail address is richard.croome@theeagle.com.

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