6A

DIVISION 1

Region I
W4 Keller (29-7) vs R5 Hebron (20-15)
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Coppell, 7:30 PM
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Coppell, 7:30 PM
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Coppell, 7:30 PM

Keller seems to be rolling. They have 10 of their last 12. 2nd place in a tough district. 1 short of reaching 30 wins this year. But Hebron is pesky. They can win over big teams. Split w Flower Mound in the last week of district. Upset Allen in the first round. Find themselves in the 3rd round

Region II
R10 Rockwall (28-8) vs W15 Klein Cain (19-7-3)
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Cain, 7:00 PM
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Rockwall, 7:00 PM
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Dallas Jesuit, 1:00 PM

How good is Klein Cain? Grasp these numbers. In their last 8 games, they are 7-1 against Top 40 teams. They are 4-0 against Top 10 teams. Rockwall will be a challenge. They are 4-0 in the playoffs. They have given up only 5 runs in 4 playoff gamesl

Region III
W19 Katy ( 27-8) vs W23 Atascocita (26-9-2) 
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Cy Ranch, 7:00 PM
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Cy Ranch, 6:00 PM
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Cy Ranch, 11:00 AM

#12 Atascocita vs #13 Katy. That tells how tight this game may be. Atascocita hasn’t been overly impressive during the playoffs. They just keep winning going 4-0 in the playoffs. After almost being eliminated by Fulshear in the first round, Katy was impressive against Cy-Fair. Big win for one of these teams.

Region IV

W25 Round Rock (28-6-1) vs W29 Buda Johnson (23-10) 
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Round Rock, 7:00 PM
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Johnson, 7:00 PM
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Del Valle, 3:00 PM

Round Rock had an unbelievable series win over Top 10 team Reagan last week. They are favored in this matchup. It will by far be the biggest challenge for Buda Johnson. Could it be a could time to catch Round Rock after such an emotional and high drama win over Reagan last week?

Division 2

Region I
R4 Byron Nelson (24-10-1) vs W5 Flower Mound Marcus (26-9)
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Byron Nelson, 7:00 PM
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Marcus, 7:00 PM
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Dallas Baptist University, 12:00 PM

Most are anticipating a Marcus/Southlake Carroll matchup next week. But Marcus will not be overlooking Byron Nelson. Byron Nelson came out of the tough 4-6A district and had a huge series win over Ft. Worth Boswell in Bi-District. Marcus was ranked in the Top 10 most of the season but they have had tight series. Two one run wins in Bi-District and last week’s matchup against Dallas Jesuit went to a Game 3.

Region II
W10 Royse City (27-6) vs W16 Cy Woods (21-10-4)
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Lake Belton, 7:00 PM
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Lake Belton, 7:00 PM
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Lake Belton, 1:00 PM

Royse City is one of the better stories in 6A so far this year. It’s just their 3rd year in 6A. And like everyone else in 10-6A, they are overshadowed by the Rockwall schools. Cy Woods is having a great run after being the odd man out in a 3-team battle in 16-6A. As the third place team in that district they now are the only one of the three still in the playoffs.

Region III
W17 Spring Branch Memorial (29-3-1) vs. W23 Kingwood (30-3) 
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Cy-Fair, 7:00 PM
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Cy-Fair, 7:00 PM
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Cy-Fair, 2:00 PM

Huge matchup between the teams with the 2nd and 3rd best records in 6A. SB Memorial has been ranked #1 since early March and have the longest winning streak in 6A at 25 games. Kingwood is the first 6A team to reach 30 games. SB Memorial has had a little tougher schedule on the year but you don’t go 30-3 without being a solid team.

Region IV
R26 Austin Westlake (25-7-1) vs W31 PSJA (28-2-1) 
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Westlake, 4:00 PM
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ PSJA, 1:00 PM
Game 3: 30 Minutes after Game 2

It’s always hard to tell how good PSJA is because their schedule is not as telling as someone like Westlake who is in a district with two other Top 25 teams. PSJA has the best record in 6A. The only team with just two losses. Austin Westlake will be a big challenge for them. The Chapparals looked impressive against a good Brandeis team last week.

6A Regional Semifinal Predictions

Division 1
Prosper over Mansfield Legacy
Keller over Hebron
Klein Cain over Rockwall
Waco Midway over Conroe
Katy over Atascocita
Pearland over Lamar
Round Rock over Buda Johnson
Lake Travis over Los Fresnos

Division 2
Marcus over Byron Nelson
Southlake Carroll over Guyer
Tomball over Tyler Legacy
Cy Woods over Royse City
SB Memorial over Kingwood
Clear Lake over Katy Taylor
Austin Westlake over PSJA
Dripping Springs over Alexander

5A

DIVISION I

Region I

W3 Amarillo Vs. W5 Aledo
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Iowa Park, 7:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Iowa Park, 1:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

W2 El Paso Americas Vs. W6 Colleyville Heritage
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Odessa, 6:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Odessa, 12:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

In the first of the two semifinal matchups, you have two real tradition-rich programs going at it in Amarillo and Aledo. What will benefit Amarillo this season, as they played in a deeper and more difficult district (3-5A), so that should have them more prepared for the highest-ranked team in this region. We were thoroughly impressed with the way that Aledo handled its business with Arlington Heights this past week. El Paso Americas had some nice runs in 6A, and this drop down in classifications potentially has them ready to take a few more steps forward. The key component to watch in this matchup is whether or not that Americas bats can produce enough runs to get by a very solid starting staff.

Predictions:
Aledo over Amarillo
Colleyville Heritage over Americas

Region II

R12 Frisco Reedy Vs. W15 Midlothian
Game 1: Thursday, May 16 @ DBU, 7:30
Game 2: Friday, May 17 @ DBU, 5:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

R9 McKinney North Vs. W16 Lake Belton
Game 1: Thursday, May.15 @ Alvarado, 7:30
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Alvarado, 7:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Alvarado, 2:00 (if necessary)

Reedy and Lake Belton are two teams that were somewhat figured to be in this scenario when the playoffs started. They were the two highest-ranked teams in the region once the playoffs began, but we do believe things could get tighter for each of these teams this week. Midlothian had two really impressive victories over cross-town rival Midlothian Heritage in district play, and 15-5A is proving to be better than we thought when the regular season ended. McKinney North is playing the “Cinderella” role in this region, but they should be the toughest playoff opponent for Lake Belton up to this point. The Broncos looked smooth in all three phases of the game when we saw them in the bi-district round.

Predictions:
Frisco Reedy over Midlothian
Lake Belton over McKinney North

Region III

W19 Barbers Hill Vs. W23 Hendrickson
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Bridgeland, 6:00
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ Caldwell, 1:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

R17 Lake Creek Vs. W24 Austin Anderson
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Mumford, 6:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Mumford, 6:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Mumford, 1:00 (if necessary)

These are two intriguing matchups between two teams from Southeast Texas and two from Central Texas in the Austin area. Barbers Hill was challenged by Crosby last week, needing to take games 2 and 3 to advance, but did just that. Hendrickson is an interesting team because they finished tied for 3rd in a district we didn’t have any teams ranked in, but that really does not matter this time of the year, and the Hawks must be taken seriously like any other team in the third round of the playoffs. Lake Creek was in our top 10 all year before dropping out late, but yet, here they are again with a chance to get to the regional finals for the third year in a row. Austin Anderson is a team that has looked really good as of late and could beat anyone in this region on any given day.

Predictions:
Barbers Hill over Hendrickson
Lake Creek over Austin Anderson

Region IV

R26 Smithson Valley Vs. W29 C.C. Vets Memorial
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Yoakum, 7:00
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ Yoakum, 12:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

W26 New Braunfels Vs. W30 La Joya Palmview
Game 1: Friday, May 16 @ Cabaniss, 7:00
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ Cabaniss, 4:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

26-5A is performing like the district we had three teams ranked inside of should be performing this time of the year. Smithson Valley probably has the most impressive series win of these four teams by knocking off Rouse in the first round. Rouse generally always makes runs in the playoffs regardless of their seed. C.C. Vets Memorial has been the most impressive team in this region throughout the second half of the season. The Eagles have been dominant in the postseason, giving up just 2 runs in 4 ball games. New Braunfels itself has had three runaway games, while Palmview had to battle and claw with McAllen Rowe in a marathon game three last week.

Predictions:
C.C. Vets Memorial over Smithson Valley
New Braunfels over Palmview

DIVISION II

Region I

W3 Lubbock Cooper Vs. R6 Argyle
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ ACU, 7:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ ACU, 1:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

W4 Abilene Wylie Vs. W6 Grapevine
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Graham, 7:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Graham, 1:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

Despite this being a new season and the division split up between I & II, these 4 teams remain alive for a very similar setting to last year’s playoff matchups in region I. Grapevine defeated Lubbock Cooper last year in the regional semifinals while Argyle did the same with Abilene Wylie. We really expect the Cooper/Argyle series to be tight. Argyle has upped their level of play since the playoffs began, and if tradition holds up, the Eagles would actually have the slight advantage despite our final regular season rankings. Grapevine is going to be favored over Wylie, but you just can’t sleep on this Bulldogs team.

Predictions:
Lubbock Cooper over Argyle
Grapevine over Abilene Wylie

Region II

W9 Lovejoy Vs. W15 Midlothian Heritage
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ North Forney, 7:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ North Forney, 7:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ North Forney, 12:00 (if necessary)

W12 Frisco Wakeland Vs. R15 Corsicana
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Duncanville, 7:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Duncanville, 7:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Duncaville, 1:00 (if necessary)

We have some really fun matchups in this region this week. Midlothian Heritage was a team we felt highly of in the preseason and felt like they certainly had the potential to be a top 20 team, and right now, they are falling in line with that mindset. Lovejoy is our pick to get out of this region, but these next two weeks are going to be about as stout as it gets to get out of a region. Frisco Wakeland passed the biggest test of the playoffs when they shut out Whitehouse in back-to-back games. They are going to be a bigger favorite over Corsicana, but Autrey’s Tigers were in our preseason mix as a contender for a reason.

Predictions:
Lovejoy over Midlothian Heritage
Frisco Wakeland over Corsicana

Region III

W19 Nederland Vs. W23 Georgetown
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Waller, 5:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Waller, 7:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Waller, 2:00 (if necessary)

W18 Kingwood Park Vs. R23 Pflugerville Weiss
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Caldwell, 7:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Cy Ridge, 7:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Mumford, 4:00 (if necessary)

23-5A has surprised us the most this season, and if they can win these two contests, they will in fact, pull off two more “upsets” and have a regional final re-match. That is going to be easier said than done as Nederland already two really impressive 3-game wins over Friendswood and Montgomery, and has been competitive with the best of the best all year long. Kingwood Park posted the most impressive performance of the area round in this region when they knocked off Santa Fe, so there is no team they cannot beat at this point.

Predictions:
Nederland over Georgetown
Kingwood Park over Pflugerville Weiss

Region IV

W25 Liberty Hill Vs. W31 Sharyland Pioneer
Game 1: Friday, May 16 @ Somerset, 6:00
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ Somerset, 1:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

W26 Boerne Champion Vs. R31 Sharyland
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Cabaniss, 5:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Cabaniss, 7:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Cabaniss, 2:00 (if necessary)

Seeing a team from D25 & D26 is not a surprise here as these are two of the deeper districts in 5A. Two 31-5A teams is a slight surprise, but both Sharyland & Pioneer are no strangers to deep playoff runs. Of the four remaining teams, Boerne Champion has separated itself a touch from the competition at this point, but that really means nothing as you have to play good ball each and every weekend, or you could be going home. None of these 4 four teams has gone through their playoff run without losing a game.

Predictions:
Liberty Hill over Sharyland Pioneer
Boerne Champion over Sharyland

 

4A

DIVISION 1

Region I
W4 Canyon West Plains (27-6-1) vs W6 Mineral Wells (18-11-1) 
One Game: Friday, May 16 @ Colorado City, 5:00 PM

Canyon West Plains is the highest ranked team left in the region for Division 1 and they have won 21 of their last 23 games. But a one game series is always dangerous. Mineral Wells will hope Holden Hering can get them to the next round.

Region II
R12 Life Waxahachie (18-8-2) vs W15 Lindale (23-7-1) 
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Athens, 7 p.m.
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Athens, 7 p.m.
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Athens, 1 p.m.

Life Waxahachie got a huge win last week over Top 10 team Celina. So they are definitely dangerous. Lindale had a big series win over Sulphur Springs after losing Game 1. That had to be a confident builder for them.

Region III
W17 Bullard (26-7) vs W23 China Spring (29-4) 
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Bullard, 7 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ China Spring, 2 p.m.
Game 3: 30 minutes after Game 2

Bullard had a very impressive sweep over Huffman-Hargrave. Are they ready to take the next challenge? Their pitching has not give up more than 2 runs in any playoff game. China Spring has been the highest rank team in Region III since the beginning of the season. They have won 20 games in a row.

Region IV
W26 Comal Davenport (26-5-2) vs R31 Tuloso-Midway (26-8-1)
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Jourdanton, 6:00 PM
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Jourdanton, 6:00 PM
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Jourdanton, 1:00 PM

#14 Davenport vs #8 Tuloso-Midway. This should be a battle between two good team. Davenport was very impressive in their wins over La Vernia last week outscoring them 11-2. Tuloso-Midway did not give up a run last week in their series sweep against Calhoun.

Division 2

Region 1
W1 El Paso Riverside (20-13-1) vs  R6 Graham (17-9) 
Game 1:  Friday, May 16, @ Andrews, 6 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, May 17, @ Andrews, noon
Game 3: 30 minutes after Game 2

It’s been a couple of years but Riverside has been in this spot before-winning big games to get to the Semifinals. Now they will face a Graham team that has been giant killers at times and then let games get away at other times. Their 3 game series win over Cooper Liberty in Bi-District was a huge one.

Region II
R12 Kennedale (18-12) vs R16 Carthage (18-14-1)
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Emory Rains, 7 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ Emory Rains, 2 p.m.
Game 3: 30 minutes after Game 2

Kennedale is making a good run in the playoffs and had to do it in 3 games against Aubrey last weekend. But Carthage may be playing their best baseball of the season right now. A big upset series win over Van in Round 1 was huge. And a sweep of Sunnyvale last week including a run rule game. They have surely found their sweet spot and will be tough to beat.

Region III
W18 Little Cypress-Mauriceville (25-6) vs W24 Salado (23-9-1) 
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Huntsville, 5 p.m.
Game 2:  Friday, May 16 @ Huntsville, 5 p.m.
Game 3: 30 minutes after Game 2

These are two good teams on a roll. One will keep it going and unfortunately, one will have their season ended. LC-M put away the pesky and dangerous Liberty team in 3 games last weekend. LC-M has been the higher ranked team this season but Salado is 4-0 in the playoffs and hasn’t given up a run in their last 3 games.

Region IV
R26 Wimberley (18-5-1) vs  W29 Sweeny (20-11-1)
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ La Grange, 7 p.m.
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ La Grange, 1 p.m.
Game 3: 30 minutes after Game 2

Sweeny would have been the favorite for the series until last week when Wimberley shut out and swept a good Pleasanton team. Wimberley has been one of the surprise teams of 4A, clinching a share of the district title with Top 25 teams Navarro and Davenport. It took Sweeny 3 games to put away Robstown last week. But they have been a strong team all year.

4A Regional Semifinals Predictions

Division 1
Seminole over Estacado
West Plains over Mineral Wells
Lindale over Life Waxahachie
Pleasant Grove over Panther Creek
China Spring over Bullard
Lumberton over Lampasas
Calallen over Uvalde
Tuloso-Midway over Davenport

Division 2
Graham over Riverside
Brock over Clint
Carthage over Kennedale
Spring Hill over Van Alstyne
Bridge City over La Grange
LC-M over Salado
Sweeny over Wimberley
Sinton over Navarro

 

3A

DIVISON I

Region I

R2 Littlefield Vs. W7 Iowa Park
Game 1: Friday, May 16 @ ACU, 7:00
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ ACU, 1:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

W2 Shallowater Vs. R7 Holliday
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Eula, 1:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Eula, 4:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

2-3A is looking really good at this point, but 7-3A has matched that as this is the only region in all of 3A that has only two districts remaining in the third round of the playoffs. It would truly be cool to have an all-district matchup in the regional finals, even though are rankings would predict otherwise. Littlefield will be underdogs to Iowa Park, but it’s certainly not out of the realm of possibility for that upset to occur. Shallowater has the slight advantage over Holliday, but it is extremely close.

Predictions:
Iowa Park over Littlefield
Shallowater over Holliday

Region II

W11 Gunter Vs. W13 Hughes Springs
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Commerce, 7:30
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ Commerce, 1:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

W10 Whitesboro Vs. W14 Liberty-Eylau
Game 1: Friday, May 16 @ Paris, 6:00
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ Paris, 1:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

This is one of those regions where you don’t want to look ahead to next week. It’s really not a good idea to ever do that in the playoffs period, but you have the #1 (Liberty-Eylau) and #2 (Gunter) teams poised to square off next week. Hughes Springs really impressed us with that two-game sweep of Atlanta in the opening round, so maybe there is enough in the tank to push Gunter to a game 3 and perhaps only their second loss of the season. Whitesboro did very well to take down a good Pottsboro team last week, but the defending 4A state champs will be on a different level.

Predictions:
Gunter over Hughes Springs
Liberty-Eylau over Whitesboro

Region III

W19 Franklin Vs. W21 Huntington
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Huntsville, 7:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Bullard, 7:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Huntsville, 4:00 (if necessary)

R17 Whitney Vs. W22 Orangefield
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Rusk, 7:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Rusk, 7:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Rusk, 2:00 (if necessary)

Predictions:
Franklin over Huntington
Orangefield over Whitney

Franklin, the defending champions, passed their biggest test of the year when they edged out Troy in a game 3, 3-2. There is no time to let off the gas now as a hungry Huntington team awaits. Huntington lost to the Lions last year, deep in the playoffs, and returned most of their team. I’m sure they are confident now that they are a year better and could pull off this upset. The Whitney and Orangefield series has the potential to be really close. Whitney impressed us with their close district games with Troy, and Orangefield is certainly on that level.

Region IV

W25 Hallettsville Vs. W31 Falfurrias
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Coastal Bend College, 6:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Coastal Bend College, 7:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Coastal Ben College, 3:00 (if necessary)

W26 Goliad Vs. W30 London
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Calallen, 6:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Calallen, 7:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Calallen, 2:00 (if necessary)

What an intriguing matchup we have in Hallettsville and Falfurrias this week. Falfurrias just picked up the most impressive series win of any 3A team in the state, sweeping Bishop in the area round. However, Hallettsville has been cruising, crushing both Karnes City and Marion in the opening two rounds. London is certainly going to be favored over Goliad, but if you’re the Pirates, you cannot remember that 9-2 win you had over this same very team earlier in the season.

Predictions:
Hallettsville over Falfurrias
London over Goliad

DIVISION II

Region I

W3 Lamesa Vs. W7 Jacksboro
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ ACU, 4:00
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ ACU, 10:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ ACU, 4:00 or 7:00 (if necessary)

W2 Idalou Vs. W6 Wall
Game 1: Friday, May 16 @ Midland College, 5:00
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ Midland College, 12:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

It was certainly tough for Lamesa to get by Childress in the area round, but here are the Tornadoes. The competition level is going to be going up a few notches this week as Jacksboro has been thorough, and holding Clyde to just 1 run in two games is about as impressive as it’s going to get. Wall got by Henrietta in what was a concerning 1-game winner-take-all scenario last week, but now gets a 3-gamer with an always-tough Idalou team that just got through scoring 33 runs in a rout over Odessa Compass Academy.

Predictions:
Jacksboro over Lamesa
Wall over Idalou

Region II

R10 Paradise Vs. W13 New Diana
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Crandall, 7:30
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Crandall, 7:30
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Crandall, 2:00 (if necessary)

W10 Boyd Vs. R15 Grand Saline
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Al Alford Field (McKinney), 7:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ McKinney, 7:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ McKinney, 1:00 (if necessary)

Our preseason rankings tend to play out better than our final regular season rankings, and that is exemplified by Paradise being this deep in the playoffs and being our #29 team in the state despite starting the season 4-8-2. Braden Wilson on the mound has been clutch, tossing a perfect game in the previous round over Prairiland. New Diana has won 3 1-run ball games this postseason, and we do believe this will be an ultra-competitive series. Boyd got a really good draw in division II and has a 55-0 scoring advantage in the playoffs. Grand Saline should be a stiffer challenge this week.

Predictions:
New Diana over Paradise
Boyd over Grand Saline

Region III

W19 Thrall Vs. W21 Central Heights
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Lake Creek, 7:00
Game 2: Saturday, May 17 @ Lake Creek, 2:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

R19 Rogers Vs. R23 Anderson-Shiro
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Brenham, 7:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Brenham, 7:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Brenham, 2:00 (if necessary)

Thrall and Central Heights is certainly an intriguing matchup as these were the two highest-ranked teams in the region when the playoffs got underway. Thrall has a win over Franklin and got through a traditionally tough West team in the area round. Central Heights has been playing as well as anyone in 3A, sweeping their first two playoff opponents while also sweeping Huntington in 3 games in 21-3A play. Rogers finished 4th overall in 19-3A, but that district is as tough as it gets, and this series with Anderson-Shiro has the potential to be a game 3, one-run win type of scenario.

Predictions:
Central Heights over Thrall
Anderson-Shiro over Rogers

Region IV

W27 Jourdanton Vs. W31 Hebbronville
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Tuloso-Midway, 6:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Tuloso-Midway, 6:00
Game 3: Saturday, May 17 @ Tuloso-Midway, 12:00 (if necessary)

W28 Lytle Vs. W30 Orange Grove
Game 1: Thursday, May 15 @ Karnes City, 6:00
Game 2: Friday, May 16 @ Karnes City, 6:00
Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

This has proven to be quite possibly the most unpredictable region in all of high school baseball in this state, but that is what makes this game so fun. In football and basketball, you usually have a good idea of what is going to happen, but in baseball, that is never the case. Jourdanton and Hebbronville were top 40 teams this season in our rankings and that should be a tight series. Lytle thoroughly impressed us with their sweep of Industrial, while Orange Grove cruised over Lyford.

Predictions:
Jourdanton over Hebbronville
Lytle over Orange Grove

 

2A

2A Division I 

Region I
W3 New Deal v R8 Anson
I will confess, I didn’t have these two teams playing at this point in the year. New Deal does come in ranked #7 in the region. Anson is unranked in the Region. New Deal seems to have returned from the program it was several years ago. Anson continues to be Anson and show this wasn’t their year to be off schedule. New Deal has waltzed through the playoffs at this point outscoring opponents 57-10 and never being challenged. Three of Anson’s five playoff games have been decided by 1 run. This one will be interesting for sure.

Region II
R10 Alvord v R16 Riesel
I believe if you had said to both programs, you will be playing in May for a shot at the regional finals, both would have said – “we will take it.” Riesel started the playoffs just 1 game over .500. Alvord ended district play with two losses that cost them the District championship. Alvord has since rolled through the playoffs most recently defeating a solid Honey Grove team. This is a battle of the “runners up.” Don’t count either program out at this point.

Region III
W19 Harleton v W21 Centerville
In Regions I and II, we have talked about the games that probably were not the top match up in the respective region. This one is the top match up for multiple reasons. Harleton comes in ranked #1 in the region and #3 in the State. Centerville is #4 in the region and #13 in the State. It doesn’t get much better than this. Centerville is fresh off a series win over #4 Garrison. Will the momentum prevail? Harleton has had a little easier path to get to this point. They are no strangers to 1-game series either. Buckle up. This one will be exciting.

Region IV
W28 Johnson City v R29 Schulenburg
Here is another 1 game series. I think the advantage has to lean towards Johnson City here. But it is a one-gamer and anything goes in a one game series. Schulenburg comes out of a very competitive district that includes Shiner, Flatonia and Ganado who are all still playing. That should play into their favor, however the pitching staff of Johnson City may see things a little differently.

Regional Semi-Final Round Predictions

Region I
W3 New Deal over R8 Anson
W4 New Home over W8 Hawley

Region II
R10 Alvord over R16 Riesel
W16 Axtell over R11 Tom Bean

Region III
W19 Harleton over W21 Centerville
W20 Frankson over R23 Shelbyville

Region IV
W25 Danbury over W29 Ganado
W28 Johnson City over R29 Schulenburg

2A Division II 

Region I
W4 Ropes v W8 Stamford
Number 1 in the Region versus Number 2 in the Region. Number 6 in the State versus Number 7 in the State. Wow! This one will be outstanding. Ropes did lose to Stamford way back in February in tournament play. The asterisk is that Ropes had starters still playing basketball. Does that flip the advantage to Ropes? I don’t necessarily think so, but it certainly doesn’t hurt Ropes either. Ropes has had a fairly easy playoff run so far. Except for a 4-1 loss to Coleman in the first round, Stamford has been extremely successful too. This will be a good series. The only thing that would have made it more exciting would be if it was a one-game series.

Region II
W11 Collinsville v R14 Crawford
This was a tough one to pick which game to feature. At the start of the season, I didn’t have either of these two programs being as successful as they have been. Collinsville re-tooled and is dominating competition across the Region. Crawford has held its own in a tough District 14. I will add that I am shocked we don’t see any District 14 teams remaining in Division I also.

Region III
W19 Overton v W23 Gary
These are two evenly matched teams that promise to bring us a good series. Overton comes in unranked in the Region despite a 25-6 record. Gary is also unranked at 17-11. Expect this one to go three games with one of the games being totally lopsided in the score. I purposely will not call in whose favor as I don’t know who will come out on top of that game. I do think the advantage lies with Overton

Region IV
W27 Bartlett v W29 Shiner
Could this be Shiner’s year to get back to the State Tournament? I think if they get past Bartlett this round, the answer should be yes. Shiner comes in at number 25 while Bartlett is not ranked. Bartlett has a 19-12 record. Bartlett does have some pitching that could play in their favor. Shiner comes out of the tougher district and Shiner has played some tougher competition which should offset the scales.

Regional Semi-Final Round Predictions

Region I
W1 Gruver over R8 Albany
W8 Stamford over W4 Ropes

Region II
W11 Collinsville over R14 Crawford
W10 Muenster over W14 Valley Mills

Region III
W19 Overton over W23 Gary
R19 Beckville over W24 Hemphill

Region IV
W29 Shiner over W27 Bartlett
R29 Flatonia over W26 Burton

 

1A

Region I
W5 Ira v W8 Hamlin
Grab a bucket of popcorn and a beverage of choice; this is the 1A series to watch this week. Ira comes in at #1 in the state with only one loss and 23 wins on the season. Hamlin is right behind them at #5 and just two losses and 17 wins. Neither team has lost to a 1A program. That streak will end this week. Experience appears to be on Hamlin’s side. They return 8 of starters – 6 juniors and just two senior starters from last year’s Area Finalist team. Ira returns 6 players from their 24-0 State Championship team. Three seniors, a junior and two sophomores.

Region II
W13 Gordon v W14 Oglesby
This is the series I will keep close tabs on. Gordon is ranked #6 in the State. Oglesby ended the regular season ranked 14th. Oglesby is fresh off a big series win over #8 Abbott. The winner of this series probably becomes my favorite to win the Region. Gordon was perfect in District 13 at 9-0 and is 17-4 overall. Oglesby had one loss in District play and has a 17-7 record

Region III
W19 Union Hill v W20 Avalon
If you remember early in the season, I predicted that a switch over to Region III would fair well for Avalon. This series should determine just how well. They entered the playoffs with a losing record and a have since improved to 10-10-1 on the season. Union Hill was 2-1 in 1A district play and currently is 11-5-1.

Region IV
W25 Spurger v W26 Round Top
Spurger has been relatively quite all season. With a first round rye and a one game series, their playoff experience is limited. Their 7-6 record is quite an improvement over last year’s 1-12 record. Round Top still has a losing record, but this is primarily due to a brutal schedule in District 26. The Cubs didn’t shy away from competition.

Regional Semi-Final Round Predictions

Region I
W3 Nazareth over W4 O’Donnell
W5 Ira over W8 Hamlin

Region II
W10 Bryson over R10 Perrin Whitt
W14 Oglesby over W13 Gordon

Region III
W20 Avalon over W19 Union Hill
W24 Brookeland over R24 Chester

Region IV
W26 Round Top over W25 Spurger
W29 Fayetteville over R31 Knippa