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Old Cardinal
06-03-2005, 03:16 PM
Would folks from around the state please give us a personnel rundown on the teams in the hunt at present for the State Championship in baseball?

Old Cardinal
06-03-2005, 07:11 PM
Since Lufkin Hudson has no football program and are primarily an outlet for good baseball for the Greater Lufkin area. I will pass on what I know about the program. This is a serious baseball school that somehow gets the lions-share of the dedicated baseball players. That area is unique in that Lufkin-Pollock Central also has no football and specializes in girls basketball and softball.
They have two great Pitchers in Brandon Belts(a Junior) and Wesley Musick(a Senior). These guys are top-billing and are backed up by Justin Nichols(a Junior), Asron Jarvis(a Soph.) and Nick Rhodes(a Soph.)
Tanner Hines at shortstop is an offensive/defensive ace that has helped them win a whole passel of important games.
Coach Glen Kimble is a noted and respected baseball leader in his field. The Hudson Hornets are poised, explosive, and quite aggressive on the field of play. I have seen them play several games this year and they are a worthy opponent for anyone in the state.
Brandon Belts will play college ball for some very lucky team.
I think the world took notice when they beat a very strong Lorena team that many thought would be a shoo-in for the State Championship this season

GWOOD
06-03-2005, 10:28 PM
I don't know a whole lot about the Lubbock Cooper team other than I watch how they do because they are from Region 1 and are only a couple of hours away from Midland. Here is an article I read this morning about their upcoming series with Iowa Park.


Lubbock Avalanche Journal
Most high school baseball teams, even the really good ones, have at least a few holes in their lineups. Opposing pitchers can pick and choose whom they're willing to challenge and be a little more cautious with the big bats in the order.

Iowa Park might as well tear that theory to shreds and throw it in the trash, though, because the Cooper Pirates aren't most baseball teams.

All 10 Pirates who have at least seven postseason at-bats have at least two hits. Nine of those players have at least three RBIs and on-base percentages above .400 in the playoffs, and in each of Cooper's six postseason victories, at least six of its starters have collected one hit or more.

The eighth-ranked Pirates (33-5) have yet to get hits from all nine of their starters in a playoff game, which gives them something to shoot for today when they open a best-of-three, Region I-3A final series against Iowa Park (22-11) at 7 p.m. at Abilene's Crutcher Scott Field.

"About the only other thing we can hope for is all nine of them hitting," said Cooper head coach Terry Baxter, whose Pirates have scored 68 runs on 72 hits in only 34 postseason innings. "Their approach at the plate has been really good, and they're focused and getting really good at-bats."

Leadoff batter and shortstop Howell Finch leads Cooper with a .545 batting average in the postseason, while Jakob Cunningham, Shawn Stults, Hudson Hlavaty and Bradley Madison are all hitting at least .444 in the playoffs. Clint Blume, Cory Cleveland and Josh Barnett are all batting at least .350, and Brett Smith and Charlie Finch have combined for four hits and three RBIs from the ninth spot in the order.

To further illustrate Cooper's offensive balance, seven different players have at least five postseason RBIs, seven have at least seven runs scored and eight have at least one extra-base hit.

"We're all pretty confident," said Hlavaty, who along with Cunningham has a team-high 10 RBIs in the playoffs. "We can't wait to get up there and hit."

Cooper's offensive clout has made things relatively easy for senior right-handers Cunningham (12-1) and Madison (10-1) - who will start Games 1 and 2, respectively - but it's not like they need much run support to begin with. Cunningham, Madison and Howell Finch (5-2) have combined to allow just eight runs in 36 postseason innings, and they have a combined 45 strikeouts.

The Pirates have given their pitchers early leads in each of their playoff games, which has allowed them to get in a groove.

"For the most part, the offense is getting leads and the pitchers are putting up zeros," Baxter said. "If they have made a mistake and given up and hit or walked somebody, they just get right back up there and get after it. Or the defense bails them out."

Baxter said the Pirates want to keep doing what they've been doing, hoping it will get them past Iowa Park and into the state tournament in Austin. The District 5-3A champion Hawks have held opponents to two runs or fewer in half of their eight playoff games, and they've showed some mettle, as well - winning two of their three playoff series in decisive third games.

"From what we saw last weekend, they competed well in all three (parts of the game)," Baxter said. "They pitched well against Perryton, played good defense and got real timely hits."

VWG
06-04-2005, 06:14 AM
Originally posted by GWOOD
I don't know a whole lot about the Lubbock Cooper team other than I watch how they do because they are from Region 1 and are only a couple of hours away from Midland. Here is an article I read this morning about their upcoming series with Iowa Park.


Lubbock Avalanche Journal
Most high school baseball teams, even the really good ones, have at least a few holes in their lineups. Opposing pitchers can pick and choose whom they're willing to challenge and be a little more cautious with the big bats in the order.

Iowa Park might as well tear that theory to shreds and throw it in the trash, though, because the Cooper Pirates aren't most baseball teams.

All 10 Pirates who have at least seven postseason at-bats have at least two hits. Nine of those players have at least three RBIs and on-base percentages above .400 in the playoffs, and in each of Cooper's six postseason victories, at least six of its starters have collected one hit or more.

The eighth-ranked Pirates (33-5) have yet to get hits from all nine of their starters in a playoff game, which gives them something to shoot for today when they open a best-of-three, Region I-3A final series against Iowa Park (22-11) at 7 p.m. at Abilene's Crutcher Scott Field.

"About the only other thing we can hope for is all nine of them hitting," said Cooper head coach Terry Baxter, whose Pirates have scored 68 runs on 72 hits in only 34 postseason innings. "Their approach at the plate has been really good, and they're focused and getting really good at-bats."

Leadoff batter and shortstop Howell Finch leads Cooper with a .545 batting average in the postseason, while Jakob Cunningham, Shawn Stults, Hudson Hlavaty and Bradley Madison are all hitting at least .444 in the playoffs. Clint Blume, Cory Cleveland and Josh Barnett are all batting at least .350, and Brett Smith and Charlie Finch have combined for four hits and three RBIs from the ninth spot in the order.

To further illustrate Cooper's offensive balance, seven different players have at least five postseason RBIs, seven have at least seven runs scored and eight have at least one extra-base hit.

"We're all pretty confident," said Hlavaty, who along with Cunningham has a team-high 10 RBIs in the playoffs. "We can't wait to get up there and hit."

Cooper's offensive clout has made things relatively easy for senior right-handers Cunningham (12-1) and Madison (10-1) - who will start Games 1 and 2, respectively - but it's not like they need much run support to begin with. Cunningham, Madison and Howell Finch (5-2) have combined to allow just eight runs in 36 postseason innings, and they have a combined 45 strikeouts.

The Pirates have given their pitchers early leads in each of their playoff games, which has allowed them to get in a groove.

"For the most part, the offense is getting leads and the pitchers are putting up zeros," Baxter said. "If they have made a mistake and given up and hit or walked somebody, they just get right back up there and get after it. Or the defense bails them out."

Baxter said the Pirates want to keep doing what they've been doing, hoping it will get them past Iowa Park and into the state tournament in Austin. The District 5-3A champion Hawks have held opponents to two runs or fewer in half of their eight playoff games, and they've showed some mettle, as well - winning two of their three playoff series in decisive third games.

"From what we saw last weekend, they competed well in all three (parts of the game)," Baxter said. "They pitched well against Perryton, played good defense and got real timely hits."

Cooper is also a senior laden team with 13 Sr.'s on the team.