MIF04

5A: N. Svoboda (WB) 4A: Hales (BH) Thamm (BH) Harrington (PNG) 3A: Parsons (Jas) Hicks (BC)

Actually, it was a little disappointing. There were very few scouts, recruiters, etc. at the game. I did see someone from A&M and Texas State but a surprisingly low turnout.

Gallant closed the game out for the South. Threw well and appeared to have pretty good velocity (good enough I tried to find someone there with a gun but couldn't find one). He looked good.

Way to go Jake. Always proud...

As in the 4A/5A game (Jake Rowell with game winning hit), SE Texas shined in the 3A/2A/1A game (won by the South 7-2): Johnny Dishon 1-2 plus walk. 1 run scored, 1 RBI Rocky Calhoun 1-2. 1 RBI Braeden Riley 1-2. Triple Tucker Muckleroy: 2 IP, 1 H, 0 R

I'll say it...way to go, Tim !!!!

I don't know if Jasper is or isn't the best 3A team ever...don't care, doesn't matter. What I do know is that they are the best 3A team in 2007 and they are THE STATE CHAMPIONS. That does matter. Congrats to Coach Mixon and the rest of the Bulldogs. Last man standing...

The Aherns kid from Memorial is the real deal. Great hitter, above-average arm from SS...I have watched him since he was 13. And a great family. His dad, by the way, is the #2 guy over at Baseball USA. He had signed with A&M and this is a tough loss for the Aggies.

Jasper...you are the bomb. Bring it on home and let all of us enjoy your win !!!!

As in any good argument, both the 'pro' and 'con' points of view offer at least a kernel of truth with their positions. 1. "You can't argue with success". No one doubts that Coach Bryant's teams (both in BC and in Buna) have won. That record speaks for itself. Nearly any HS in Texas would be proud to have that record. The flip side would ask whether that record occurred because of, or in spite of, the coach. It is equally true that BC has had an extraordinary run of talent come through their school. It is a good baseball town with an outstanding youth program, etc. Some credit needs to go there as well. ADVANTAGE: Pro-Bryant 2. "He is not a people person". Or, to put it another way, he is not a 'players' coach. This is a matter of style. Personally, some (me included) may not like Bryant's style but being quiet, or aloof, or non-approachable is a matter of choice. There is a more disturbing criticism of Coach Bryant and that concerns his unwillingness to help his players with respect to colleges, etc. He has ignored requests from colleges, MLB scouts, etc. under the guise of "I don't want any prima donnas on my team". I agree with the theory but part of the man's job is to help his players beyond the HS baseball field. Compare and contrast his efforts to what Coach Griff does over at LCM. ADVANTAGE: Anti-Bryant 3. "He is not a good game coach". This criticism is levied at him concerning everything from how he practices to whether he doesn't bunt enough to how he handled Joe Robertson rounding 3rd. First, he deserves a break on the play at the end of the Jasper game. That happens to every 3rd base coach from Pee Wee League to the Big Leagues. Everyone at that game has an opinion (me included). It happens and let it go. Beyond that, the critiques of how he 'runs a game' have some merit. He appears to forget some things (like a courtesy runner for his catcher) and, at times, looks like nothing more than a spectator waiting to see what will happen. In game 3 vs. Needville, he started the Clark kid...before the fact, there was a collective groan but...after the game, it was pure genius. Sometimes, a coach's strategy is not measured by how good a strategy it may be but how it turns out. Overall, things have turned out pretty well for BC over the years. The comment has been made that he doesn't 'over coach'. That is a true statement. The flip side is whether he really coach at all. Again, that is a matter of taste, I guess. Does he sometimes get out-coached (i.e., Jasper series)? Yes. Does every coach, at some point, get out-coached? Yes. ADVANTAGE: No comment. One last point...about the suggestion that Coach Bryant telling everyone to 'stick it' and taking himself to some other school...That is certainly his choice but I haven't seen much to make me think he is truly in that high a demand. I don't mean that in a disrespectful way to Coach Bryant, only to state a fact. So, if you answer the questions "Is he a future Coaching Hall of Famer" based on wins and losses, the answer is 'yes'. If you add other criteria, the answer isn't as clear. I would remind everyone that Bryant is a HS coach at a 3A school. If its only about baseball, then judge him on his W and Ls. If being a HS coach is more than that, then everyone needs to form his or her own opinion on those other issues. I have my opinion and I am sure everyone else has theirs. Congratulations to the Cardinals on a good run this season. Once again, some very good players have come through BC and all of their fans have had the opportunity to witness both good players and good kids. Fortunately for BC, the talent pool has not run dry. Next year promises to be yet another good season. Best of luck in 2008.

Game 3 was all you would want in a “winner take all†Regional Final with a trip to Austin (okay, I know its Round Rock now) on the line. Straight to it: 1. Congratulations to Coach Mixon and the Bulldogs. The best team won. The proved it during district and they proved it at Vincent-Beck. Emphasis on the word “teamâ€. 2. Heckuva performance by LHP Justin Parsons. Also a great performance by freshman Matt Hicks. Both guys pitched well enough to win. 3. Huge turn around in inning # 1. BC opens with a Bolton single followed by Dishon’s double and fails to score. Jasper then parlays 2 BC errors to a 1-0 lead. 4. Personally, I would have gone to Stringer earlier but I understand Bryant’s though processes. Huge hit that inning by Reagan. Personally, I like him more as a SS than a P once he gets to Panola. 5. The game ending play…well, that has been debated on the game thread ad nauseum. I would have sent him all the way but I don’t get my paycheck making that decision. 6. BC had a very talented group of players. Dishon and Stringer, for example, were the only D-1 caliber kids outs there. But, it takes 9 and Jasper’s 9 played better than BC’s 9. And, to call a spade a spade, Mixon did a heckuva job coaching. 7. Both sides played hard. Were there errors, mistakes, etc.? Sure but none from lack of effort. I salute the players on both sides for how hard they played and hope that, when the memories fade, all we remember are the good things and the good performances. So, now I root for Jasper. They have a trip of a lifetime ahead of them. They are already one of the great teams ever produced in SE Texas. By this time next week, they could be like the Marines…â€the Few, The Proudâ€â€¦and state champions. Go get ‘em, Bulldog

Yeah...he's the next Ichiro.....LOL.

Game two provided the same score…but a different victor and that sets us up for a pivotal Game 3. Everything you would want should be present at Vincent-Beck at 4 p.m. today – drama, emotion, heroes, villains… Now, for some random observations: 1. Matt Hicks makes a nice play on Jasper’s 1st hitter. Hart hits a shot toward the middle…Hicks ranges to his left, gloves it and makes an authoritative throw to first. The kid had a tough Thursday night but was ‘nails’ at SS on Friday. 2. Jumping out to an early lead is a curse, not a blessing? Jasper rolls to a 3-0 lead only to fall. BC scores 4 in the 4th including 3 when Troy Bolton’s 2-run flare to LF turns into an adventure and BC winds up with a 4-3 lead. 3. Phillip Meeks pitched an outstanding game, allowing only 5 hits (although it seems like Jasper’s Hart had 5 all by himself). A tough, gutty performance by the kid. 4. Both starters (Meeks and Ellis) got in trouble with the opponent’s bottom of the order and that lead to each team’s ‘big’ inning. Put another way, both team’s lead-off hitters got ‘big’ hits…Hart a 2-run single to open Jasper’s scoring and Bolton’s 2-run single. 5. Small things = big things? With 2 outs and the bases loaded, BC’s Chase Warner stood on 2nd base as the Cardinals’ #9 hitter ran the count all the way out to 3 and 2. Like all good ballplayers in that situation, Warner was running on the pitch. The ball was bounced to third base and Warner, running hard and aggressively, beat the ball to 3rd and BC scored their 1st run. The rest, as they say, is history. 6. There were much fewer errors in Game 2. Up to the end, though, you felt Jasper was never out of it and, when BC 2B threw away what would have been the final out of the game, you could feel the ‘panic’ set it. Credit Meeks for keeping his wits about it and pitching out of that jam as well. 7. Travis Reagan had an RBI single to plate Jasper’s 3rd run and had another hard hit ball only to have BC 3B Joseph Robertson rob him with a nice play moving to his left. Johnny Dishon had a hard hit single in his last at-bat and the Cards need his bat to stay hot for Game 3. 8. Who will pitch Game 3? My money is on Clark (BC) vs. Reagan (Jasper) although BC feels confident in swinging the bat against Reagan. Stephenson is the type of guy who gives BC fits as he showed in game 1. If BC had a viable option at SS, you might see Hicks but he is too valuable defensively. So there you have it, sports fans. All knotted up after two games with the rubber match set for this afternoon. 4 p.m. Vincent-Beck Stadium. Trip to the state tournament on the line. Be there. Aloha.

After sitting through game 1 of the Jasper/BC series, there are a number of observations that can be made: 1. It was a great crowd and proves what we probably already knew – baseball is alive and well in SE Texas. It was intense, vocal, etc. – everything a Regional Final series should be. 2. The caliber of baseball was not state championship baseball. Indeed, it was probably “1st scrimmage of the year†baseball. Jasper had 4 errors (all early on). BC had 9 (that’s right, nine, nueve, almost 10, etc.) errors … I know the scoreboard only ‘credited’ them with 6 but that was generous. Simply put, it was ugly. Of course, Jasper gets credit for putting the ball in play and, when you do that, sometimes good things happen. No one can give a team of Jasper’s quality 9 extra outs and expect to win. 3. While the caliber may have been lacking, the effort and intensity was not. Jasper gets high marks for bouncing back from the early 6-1 deficit. Aaron Stephenson was nearly unhittable in 5 innings of work. After allowing a 3rd inning run, BC’s offense practically disappeared. That was Stephenson’s doing. While most of the post-game chatter has been about the errors (mine included), #16’s pitching deserves a lot of credit. 4. The pitching duel between Stringer and Reagan never really materialized. Jasper had 9 hits (although some of those should have been called errors) but still … the ‘Dogs did not back down. Stringer deserved better than what he got from his defense but was not dominating. He touched 88 or 89 a couple of times but basically pitched at 86. Once Jasper stopped lunging after his breaking pitch, their offense got rolling. Reagan only lasted 2 innings. He hit 87 a time or two but pitched at 84-85 which, quite frankly, was what I expected. He had little command and that led to his downfall. In the overall scheme of things (and with hindsight being 20-20), Mixon’s pitching change in the 3rd probably won the game for Jasper. 5. Coaching decisions (primarily Bryant’s) have come under fire over the past 12 hours. While I would not have walked Hart, I can’t say it was the wrong decision at the time (granted, it turned out wrong but that’s baseball). Its just 2 schools of thought. As far as sending the kid home on the fly ball…if you’re gonna gamble, that was a good time to do it. Jasper was reeling, it was 6-1, they had made 4 errors, etc. Quite frankly, I thought he could have been more aggressive on the bases earlier. I am surprised (after Jasper demonstrated a lack of ability to handle the bunt) BC did not put the ball down more…especially after Jasper tied the score and Stephenson was cruising. I repeat…Mixon’s pitching change was a superior move. Not only did it change the flow of the game, it also saves Reagan for Saturday…if needed. Game 2 is tonight. One would expect Meeks on the hill for BC and, for Jasper, who knows???? Mixon is pretty cagy when it comes to his pitching rotation. He might throw Stephenson again, he could throw Ellis, and he has Parsons (who warmed up a couple of times last night). Heck, he could even throw Reagan some. What I really hope is that we see a quality game between 2 quality teams (and that the rain stays away). Get there early since the crowd will be at least as big as last night. And, as always…Play Ball !!!!

This week’s edition of Random Thoughts comes at ya on graduation weekend where yours truly got to watch his youngest walk the stage, get his diploma and move into another phase of his life…WHEW. Happy? Yes. Sad? Yes. Proud? Always. Happiness and sadness also abounded on the diamond this week as 3 SE Texas teams stay alive for their dream of a state championship. For two teams, however, it was the sadness and sorrow of what might have been. In the end, we know one thing…at least one SE Texas team will be going to Austin (the winner of the Jasper-BC series) and we’re hoping for two (go Woodville). The biggest noise this week was made by the BC Cardinals as they swept the previously undefeated and state ranked #1 Carthage Bulldogs by scores of 6-2 and 4-2. Solid pitching and defense keyed the Cardinals’ wins but no one made noise like CF Johnny Dishon with his 2 HR night on Thursday. He gave Cardinal ace Jeff Stringer the 3-1 lead he never relinquished as Stringer relied heavily on his defense to win game 1. Game 2 belonged to Phillip Meeks who threw 6 shutout innings before tiring in the 7th and allowing 2 runs. Matt Hicks’ 3-run double was the big blow in game 2. So who do the Cards get in the Regional Final? 21-3A champion Jasper Bulldogs who swept Lufkin Hudson in interesting fashion: a 10-inning 3-1 nail biter in game 1 and an 18-1 pounding in game 2. Travis Reagan threw all 10 innings in game 1, gathering 13 Ks. By the way, the kid DID touch 3rd base in the 7th…the photo proves it. Game 2…well, it was a track meet. The ‘Dogs proved to the rest of Region III what we’ve known all along: 21-3A is the toughest district in the State. The best baseball? Why, we play it down here. So…we get BC vs. Jasper at Lamar on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. A trip to Austin on the line. Two great programs, both with considerable talent. Who can’t wait for this one? In 2A, the Woodville Eagles rolled through Quitman in game 1, 10-0 then hung on to an early lead to sweep into the Regional Finals by a 4-3 margin. The pitching duo of Winters and Riley remain tough and will need to be as Hooks (fresh of their shellacking of Buna) stand between them and another trip to Austin. This series is TBA as of press time. Speaking of Buna, the Cougars picked a bad time to have a bad week, losing 10-0 and 6-0 to Hooks. The #8 team in the state never got untracked during this series. While it was a tough way to go out, none of this minimizes the great season Buna had…a district championship and a run deep into the playoffs. Congrats to the Cougs. Last, but certainly not least, Barbers Hill met their match in the Montgomery Bears, losing 2-0 and 4-2. Game 1 was the expected pitchers’ duel between Cody Springer and Ross Hales but 4 Eagles’ errors led to 2 unearned runs. BH also left 7 men on base while their faithful will be left wondering what might have been had the fly ball to deep CF (with 2 men on) had been pulled just a bit…Game 2 saw the Eagles fall behind 4-1 only to load the bases with no outs in the 7th. Alas, only 1 run scored and the season ended too quickly for the Hill. It was another fine pitching performance by Kendall Thamm but, as in game 1, BH couldn’t get the big hit…leaving 12 men on base. Still, a great season by one of the very best teams this season in SE Texas. By the way, Hales and Thamm are only juniors so there are reasons to smile for those west of the Trinity... So it ends for some and goes on for others. For those who saw it end, walk away with the good memories of plays made and games won. For those still playing, the dream continues…and you’re just 1 series from Austin. Until then, PLAY BALL !!!!

They are in Region II. Region I and II are the 'north'.

"Posing" on his way to first base? Heck...I would have been doing cartwheels...

Just your typical 10 inning playoff game...way to go, 'Dogs. Sounds like a heckuva job by Reagan. Close it out....

This was a great playoff game. Both teams filled the stands (it was a sea of red) and both teams threw their ace. It was well played (1 error, late, on Carthage) and 2 big HRs by Dishon. Stringer threw well and got some very good defensive help, esp. a 4-6-3 DP when Carthage loaded the bases. BC swung it well against Rollins. Carthage can swing it too...should be intense on Sat....

Heck of a year for BH. Two good teams matched up here so congrats to the Bears for advancing but equal congrats to Eagles on a season well played. While a lot of good players are walking the stage as grads, you kinda got to like BH with Hales and Thamm returning. 2 pretty good pitchers.

2 run home run by dishon. 3-1 bc.

jackson double. advanced to 3rd. sac fly. 1-1 after two. in top 3....k....5-3....hbp....bb....men on 1st and 2nd....f6....end of inning .

walk. to 2nd on pb. 3 ks. still 1-0.

3 up 3 down. 1-0 after 1.

stringer with 3 ks in top of 1st.....3rd hitter reaches on pb...steals 2nd. double. fly out to cf. 3outs. 1-0 carthage. cards coming to hit. ....its on.