MIDLAND, Texas — Twenty-three innings worth of history were made on the baseball diamond here in the Permian Basin this past week between Midland High and Odessa High, and sure, we could dive into the numbers and that would be absolutely warranted.
But let's dig a little bit deeper.
Let's talk to some players and coaches about what it was like to play in the longest game in the history of Texas high school baseball.
"To be able to do that and just keep going inning after inning when you ain't catching that break to just keep staying in the game and competing the way they did. I think that's two days of some of the best defensive baseball I've ever witnessed," said Odessa High head coach Jerod Couch.
"We lost game one, so we knew we had to tie it up and we're going to do anything to do that. So, 23 innings, 7 innings, whatever it took. When it was cold, rainy, we didn't care. We just want to get the win," said Midland High shortstop Ayden Castillo, who made the game-winning defensive play.
"As a sophomore, it's a big moment, but I mean, we had many chances to come on top and we didn't take it, but it was definitely a fun experience mentally," said Odessa High pitcher Bo Rodriguez.
"It was getting kind of repetitive because each inning was just the same thing over and over and over again, but our pitching was pretty good. We kept making plays," said Odessa High catcher Bryan Hernandez, who caught all 38 innings of the three-game series for the Bronchos.
"I mean it's a little bit draining, but at the same time your mind is just telling you to keep going. Don't give up. Don't give in, just keep fighting, you know," said Midland High pitcher Tag Galindo.
"It's pretty tiring because you know, I pitched during that game 10 innings, 105 pitches, you know, so it's pretty tiring, but also pretty fun to experience a game like that," said Odessa High pitcher Omar Hernandez.
"We had it together the whole time and knowing that we'd always come through no matter what when we needed it," said Midland High pitcher Jacoby Dutchover, who scored the game-winning run.
Each player had their own spin on an answer when asked how it felt to be a part of history.
"It feels pretty good. It feels amazing," said Bryan Hernandez.
"That feeling at the end, knowing that we came out on top, fighting and just giving everything we had, and just never gave in. Everything we had," said Galindo.
"I mean, it's pretty cool. But other than that, to lose that game feels pretty bad," said Omar Hernandez.
"Feels amazing. We battled it out. It was a good game, took forever, but we came through in the end," said Dutchover.
"I'm sure, when we have kids, one day I'll tell them all about it would be awesome. Just talking about the grandkids talking about it. Same. Yeah. Going to be cool," said Castillo.
"I mean, it's a shell shocker, definitely, but it feels good for sure," said Rodriguez.
The players also said that the support from family, friends and fans alike on both sides, Midland High and Odessa High, is one of the things that kept them going throughout this marathon of a contest and they wanted to be sure to thank all of those fans on both sides that showed up and helped out with their cheering.
Midland High will face Permian in the last series of the regular season, beginning on Thursday, while Odessa High will match up with Midland Legacy, also beginning on Thursday.