Coming into this season, it was known that this would be a wide open year in terms of what teams would be making the trip to state. Wall, Whitesboro, Central Heights and Gateway Prep were not the highest ranked teams in their respective regions during the preseason, but this is what makes high school baseball in Texas so great. On any given night you can be beat, but these four teams have managed to outlast the rest for a chance at a ring and a state championship. As with the regular season and playoffs, I feel that these semifinal and final games will be unpredictable as each team has an equal chance of capturing the crown.
Region I – Wall
Coach: Jason Schniers (196 career wins)
Season Record: 30-3-1
District Record (4-3A): 10-0
Playoff Record: 9-1
Playoff Run: Bi-District (10-6 over Tornillo); Area (17-0 & 10-6) over Idalou); Regional Quarterfinals (10-0 & 19-3 over Littlefield); Regional Semifinals (3-7, 3-2 & 8-5 over Brock); Regional Finals (2-1 & 11-6 over Peaster)
Coach Schniers and the Wall Hawks seem like they are deep in the playoffs on a yearly basis. The only thing missing was that state tournament bid – and now that has been taken care of. Wall has been very consistent most of the season, with just a pair of tournament loses before dropping game one to Brock in a back-and-forth regional semifinal series. With 3 all-state players returning from last year’s roster, the talent is there for this team to do special things in Round Rock. Can the Hawks get region I over the hump and bring back a state title to West Texas?
Region II – Whitesboro
Coach: Curt Cole (186 career wins)
Season Record: 28-8
District Record: 9-3
Playoff Record: 10-1
Playoff Run: Bi-District (12-0 & 9-0 over Howe); Area (9-1, 2-4 & 7-4 over Sunnyvale); Regional Quarterfinals (8-3 & 4-1 over Edgewood); Regional Semifinals (5-4 & 2-0 over New Diana); Regional Finals (7-5 & 2-1 over Beckville)
If there is a team to be considered a “Cinderella” in this year’s playoff run, it would be the Whitesboro Bearcats. To say this team is battle tested would be an understatement, with a brutal district schedule and the most recent gauntlet that was the region II playoff field. This Bearcat team may have 8 losses, but at this point, that means about as much as what dugout you’re going to have at state. It’s all about how you’re playing at this moment, and right now, Whitesboro is playing about as well as you could expect.
Region III – Central Heights
Coach: Travis Jackson (248 career wins)
Season Record: 35-2-1
District Record: 12-0
Playoff Record: 10-0
Playoff Run: Bi-District (15-0 & 14-3 over Onalaska); Area (10-0 & 10-3 over Hitchcock) Regional Quarterfinals (10-0 & 7-6 over Danbury); Regional Semifinals (4-0 & 3-2 over Franklin); Kirbyville (0-1, 2-0 & 2-0 over Kirbyville)
In this past week’s regional finals, Central Heights had their backs up against the wall. The Blue Devils had lost a pitchers duel game one with Kirbyville (1-0) and needed to win back-to-back games to get back to state for the first time since 2011. That one run would be the last one given up as the Blue Devils pitching staff combined to post 14 consecutive scoreless innings to punch their ticket to state. That is part of the reason this Blue Devil team – which is still very young overall – has been the number one team in 3A for a good portion of this season. Can this pitching staff continue this dominance in Round Rock?
Region IV – Gateway Prep
Coach Ryan Kjos (90 career wins)
Season Record: 23-2-1
District Record: 10-2
Playoff Record: 8-0
Playoff Run: Bi-District (26-0 over Karnes City); Area (7-1 & 8-7 over Boling); Regional Quarterfinals (10-0 & 11-4 over Johnson City); Regional Semifinals (4-3 over Falfurrias); Regional Finals (6-3 & 6-2 over Lago Vista)
When the regional quarterfinal round came up, it was known how good 25-3A was. All four teams from the district were still alive and there was a good chance that one of those teams was going to have a shot at representing region IV at state. The Gators took down Johnson City in the regional quarterfinals and two rounds later knocked off preseason number one Lago Vista in back-to-back games to earn their spot at state. It was not easy to get a gauge on this team early as rain only allowed for 5 games to be played before the start of district. Since a district opening loss to the Vikings, the Gators have won 22 of their last 23 games, including 8 straight in the playoffs.
STATE TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
Wednesday
4:00 – Whitesboro Vs. Central Heights
7:00 – Wall Vs. Gateway Prep
Thursday
12:00 – 3A State Championship
