Resiliency and mental toughness were attributes the Hays Rebels baseball team needed to outlast the New Braunfels Canyon Cougars in a thrilling best-of-3 bi-district round series.

That included playing 16 combined innings of baseball over a five-hour span Saturday, culminating in Hays notching a series-clinching 8-5 victory over Canyon in Game 3.

“Just a lot of heart and determination,” Hays head coach James Howard said about the wins. “I think it’s a team that expected to ...