Scoop27
06-01-2016, 03:20 PM
From the Brazosport Facts
SWEENY — There may only be one team in Class 4A playing better baseball than the Sweeny Bulldogs right now.
That would be their opponent in the Region IV final, the Salado Eagles.
Salado (27-11), the winner of District 25-4A, comes into its series against Sweeny having won eight of its last nine games, including a sweep of Sinton in the regional semifinals, 2-1 and 5-4.
With 11 losses, Salado wasn’t the team many expected to come out of its bracket, Sweeny coach David Luster said, but it has advanced to the fifth round of the playoffs for a reason.
“They’re solid defensively, they swing it pretty well and they’ve got one real good arm and several pretty decent arms,” Sweeny coach David Luster said. “They’ve just peaked at the right time — they’re playing good baseball. I talked to the Sinton coach (Monday) and he said they just played well last week.”
The Bulldogs (32-6) will have to be on the top of their game when their best-of-three series with Eagles begins at 7 p.m. today at Mumford High School, about 20 miles northwest of College Station.
Game 2 is at 5 p.m. Friday at Mumford, with Game 3 following 30 minutes after Game 2’s conclusion if necessary.
Luster said the location and scheduling of the series was tough because of all the rain across Southeast Texas and because Salado is still in school — Sweeny had its graduation May 27.
“It’s crazy,” Luster said. “(Salado has) graduation stuff and they’ve got full (school) days still. We’re out of school so we can play whenever, but they’ve got full days through Friday and graduation Saturday. With the rain in the forecast you’re going to have to play on a turf field, and looking at what’s in between us and what’s available, pretty much the only thing that’s available is Mumford. With the rain and the floods and the field, this is a rough week.”
The Bulldogs have dealt with awkward scheduling already this postseason, as their regional semifinal series with Robstown began May 25, before finishing with a doubleheader May 28.
The Bulldogs took the series (3-1, 1-10, 8-2), thanks to stellar pitching from senior Shawn Kelley, who struck out eight in Game 1 and came back in Game 3 to throw six innings of four-hit ball with five strikeouts.
”We’ve just got to play our game,” Luster said. “In the second game against Robstown the wheels fell off. We couldn’t field baseballs, we couldn’t throw baseballs. … But if we play our game — we get good pitching like we’ve got all year, we get timely hitting like we’ve got all year and we play solid defense like we have all year — then I feel good about our chances for sure.”
But it isn’t just Kelley on the mound for the Bulldogs.
Ty Ringo has been solid all year long, Jacob Mathis has come in in some tough spots and shut teams down, and freshman Caden Homniok has emerged as a go-to arm for Sweeny this postseason.
“We’ve got more options than most schools,” Luster said. “You know, we got a bunch of kids who haven’t got a chance to pitch in the playoffs yet, because there’s so many options. We’ve got eight kids I could run out there, maybe nine, and feel confident in them getting the job done.”
Luster said Homniok spent most of the season on the junior varsity so he could get as many innings as possible under his belt and be ready if needed in the postseason.
“I told him throughout the year what our plan was, and that was, get into playoffs and then put him out there when we needed him,” Luster said. “He’s done a great job. He came in against El Campo and did a great job and kept us in the lead and battled through some tough spots.
“He’s going to be a tremendous player for us for the rest of this year and the next three years for sure.”
With two wins separating Sweeny from a trip to Austin and the state baseball tournament, Luster said he expects his team to be on the bus next week, two wins from a state championship.
“This is what you dream about as a player and as a coach, and to get there to me, would be exhilarating,” Luster said. “We’re almost expected to be there. It would feel great, but I think anything less would be a huge letdown. This time next week if we’re making our way to Austin, I don’t think anybody would really be surprised — not these 17 players or three coaches.”
SWEENY — There may only be one team in Class 4A playing better baseball than the Sweeny Bulldogs right now.
That would be their opponent in the Region IV final, the Salado Eagles.
Salado (27-11), the winner of District 25-4A, comes into its series against Sweeny having won eight of its last nine games, including a sweep of Sinton in the regional semifinals, 2-1 and 5-4.
With 11 losses, Salado wasn’t the team many expected to come out of its bracket, Sweeny coach David Luster said, but it has advanced to the fifth round of the playoffs for a reason.
“They’re solid defensively, they swing it pretty well and they’ve got one real good arm and several pretty decent arms,” Sweeny coach David Luster said. “They’ve just peaked at the right time — they’re playing good baseball. I talked to the Sinton coach (Monday) and he said they just played well last week.”
The Bulldogs (32-6) will have to be on the top of their game when their best-of-three series with Eagles begins at 7 p.m. today at Mumford High School, about 20 miles northwest of College Station.
Game 2 is at 5 p.m. Friday at Mumford, with Game 3 following 30 minutes after Game 2’s conclusion if necessary.
Luster said the location and scheduling of the series was tough because of all the rain across Southeast Texas and because Salado is still in school — Sweeny had its graduation May 27.
“It’s crazy,” Luster said. “(Salado has) graduation stuff and they’ve got full (school) days still. We’re out of school so we can play whenever, but they’ve got full days through Friday and graduation Saturday. With the rain in the forecast you’re going to have to play on a turf field, and looking at what’s in between us and what’s available, pretty much the only thing that’s available is Mumford. With the rain and the floods and the field, this is a rough week.”
The Bulldogs have dealt with awkward scheduling already this postseason, as their regional semifinal series with Robstown began May 25, before finishing with a doubleheader May 28.
The Bulldogs took the series (3-1, 1-10, 8-2), thanks to stellar pitching from senior Shawn Kelley, who struck out eight in Game 1 and came back in Game 3 to throw six innings of four-hit ball with five strikeouts.
”We’ve just got to play our game,” Luster said. “In the second game against Robstown the wheels fell off. We couldn’t field baseballs, we couldn’t throw baseballs. … But if we play our game — we get good pitching like we’ve got all year, we get timely hitting like we’ve got all year and we play solid defense like we have all year — then I feel good about our chances for sure.”
But it isn’t just Kelley on the mound for the Bulldogs.
Ty Ringo has been solid all year long, Jacob Mathis has come in in some tough spots and shut teams down, and freshman Caden Homniok has emerged as a go-to arm for Sweeny this postseason.
“We’ve got more options than most schools,” Luster said. “You know, we got a bunch of kids who haven’t got a chance to pitch in the playoffs yet, because there’s so many options. We’ve got eight kids I could run out there, maybe nine, and feel confident in them getting the job done.”
Luster said Homniok spent most of the season on the junior varsity so he could get as many innings as possible under his belt and be ready if needed in the postseason.
“I told him throughout the year what our plan was, and that was, get into playoffs and then put him out there when we needed him,” Luster said. “He’s done a great job. He came in against El Campo and did a great job and kept us in the lead and battled through some tough spots.
“He’s going to be a tremendous player for us for the rest of this year and the next three years for sure.”
With two wins separating Sweeny from a trip to Austin and the state baseball tournament, Luster said he expects his team to be on the bus next week, two wins from a state championship.
“This is what you dream about as a player and as a coach, and to get there to me, would be exhilarating,” Luster said. “We’re almost expected to be there. It would feel great, but I think anything less would be a huge letdown. This time next week if we’re making our way to Austin, I don’t think anybody would really be surprised — not these 17 players or three coaches.”