Cinco Ranch has gone from one end of the pendulum to the other this season.

The Cougars had to go through lows to reach the heights they are at now, going from an 0-3 start in district play to back-to-back district champions who closed district out on a 13-game district winning streak.

The Cougars clinched it all with a 2-1 win on Friday night over Seven Lakes where Ethan Muniz threw a gem of a complete game, striking out six and allowing just four hits without walking a batter and only allowing one earned run, while Dylan Muniz drove in a run on a single and Paul Acosta scored the winning run in the second inning on a wild pitch.

It’s the first time in school history that the Cougars baseball program has won back to back district titles and it’s a moment that they made sure to celebrate.

“it’s a special moment for us,” said Cinco Ranch head coach Brett Wallace. “But to do this from where we started makes it even more special. Our guys fought to get out of that hole and then to win it in a close game the way we did was great. It was a good challenge for us heading into playoffs.”

The Cougars were in a must situation all district if they wanted to defend that district title and they did everything they had to do, starting their winning streak in a trilling game against Tompkins before going on to sweep the rest of their district opponents, including Katy in two dominant wins that secured the first seed in the playoffs for Cinco.

“The guys never dropped their heads after those first three games because we were in all of them and were just one hit away from turning them into wins,” Wallace said. “Sometimes you do things right and it doesn’t fall your way. After those three games, the ball started to fall our way and our guys just kept getting better and better.”

The Cougars have been bolstered by a strong and deep pitching staff that has helped them go on this huge run. The trio of Josh Morelli, Ethan Muniz and Brayden Hodge have shut teams down on the mound as starters while Thomas Guys has been strong as the first man on in relief.  The Cougars have given up just over two runs a game on the season and the offense has been tremendous as well, with Cinco outscoring opponents by over four runs a game in district play.

“They all throw strikes and that’s the key to success in high school is to throw strikes and pound the zone,” Wallace said. “We have a really good defense to back them up as well with guys like Brock (DeYoung), Lucas (Franco) at third and Karten (Kleiwig) at second and our outfield is good too and that helps take that pressure off the pitchers. That’s been the key to our success, limit free bases and that’s been a big emphasis this year that the guys have done well with.”

The next step for the Cougars is playoffs. Cinco Ranch went on the biggest run in program history last year, reaching the regional semifinals before falling to state finalist Pearland. The Cougars want to make another run this year and they have guys who have been there before, a huge advantage and something they didn’t have last season.

“Having guys that have that experience in the playoffs from last year I think is going to really help us out,” Wallace said. “The moment isn’t going to be too big for them and hopefully they can help those guys who haven’t been here before settle in. We’ve been there and done that, the expectation now is to keep it going, not just to make the playoffs, but to make another run at it.”