Gabe

Unusual errors. An error very late in the first game in Jasper by Matt Hicks, which probably will not happen again. The second game was also marred by errors by BC, which probably will not happen again. The Cards defense is playing some of its best ball in the playoffs, its one of the main reasons Carthage is at home right now. I meant no disrespect to Jasper, they took advantage of the mistakes and won the games. This go around, I just dont see the Cards giving Jasper those chances.

Few other Bears to think of are Jon Gunn, Khris Hearn, Chad Richard and Dallas Brown to name a few. Tim Barry was also great along with Stefan Cloeren. WOS needs to have Earl Thomas out there, he was a great player. Jace Statum, Jacob Felts and Possum LaFleur can be added for OF. Few unsung guys from BC are Joe Robertson, Jaden Dillon and Daniel Willey.

Ok maybe worried is the wrong word since you took it as scared. The Cards are FOCUSED on Jasper. Not a bit scared and are very confident for good reason. The Cards basically let Jasper off the hook twice and Im sure BC wil not let that happen again. Jasper is a great team obviously since they have come this far but BC has already gotten revenge twice this year. OF put a scare into them once and BC put a number on them the second time around and then took out Carthage, making up for the state tourney.

Plus I dont think the Cards are worry about LE just yet. Like the thread name states, they are worried about Jasper for the time being.

Thanks for the info...Im away from work til Tuesday and was curious

Not talking smack just really curious... Whens last time Jasper was in Regional Final? Ever made state and when? Have they won it?

Offense - BC because so many other guys other than Dishon are hitting the ball so well Defense - BC's defense was maybe the biggest reason why Carthage is planning summer vacations Pitching - My boys Meeks, Stringer, Hicks and Clark would kill me if I took Jasper Coaching - 2 straight Austin trips, 3rd straight regional final

Carthage's title dream dashed by Bridge City By GABRIEL D. BROOKS Sunday, May 27, 2007 LUFKIN — Khris Tate's two-out, two-run single in the bottom of the seventh inning momentarily made Carthage fans believe the Bulldogs were poised for a Game 2 comeback in their Class 3A Region III baseball semifinal series at Morris Frank Park. However Bridge City, which got a strong pitching performance from No. 2 starter Phillip Meeks, went to its ace for the final out. With the tying run at the plate, Cardinal pitcher Jeff Stringer, who struck out 12 Bulldogs in Thursday's 6-2 win in Game 1, forced Carthage's Jonathon Baker to hit into a series-ending groundout to first base, sparking a Cardinal celebration and ending the season for the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association's No. 1-ranked squad, 4-2. Carthage, which ran roughshod over District 20-3A en route to a 25-0 regular-season record, ends its season at 28-2 in coach Shawn Schumacher's first year at the helm. Carthage beat No. 4 Liberty-Eylau twice in non-district along with 12-4A runner-up Nacogdoches and fourth-place Hallsville. The Bulldogs also beat Pine Tree in a warm-up game when the Pirates were ranked No. 3 in 4A, but they couldn't get past a Bridge City (27-6-1) team that wanted to avenge a 2005 state semifinal loss to eventual champion Carthage. "Any time you win 28 ballgames — 28 in a row — that's hard to do," Schumacher said. "I'm not going to take anything away from Bridge City. They played well, they made plays. When they had runners in scoring position they got the job done." Meeks pitched 6 2/3 innings, yielding two runs on 10 Carthage hits while striking out only three Bulldogs. But Meeks' intermediate-speed pitches and breaking balls perplexed Carthage just enough to keep the Bulldogs from getting solid contact consistently, and the Dawgs' own baserunning miscues cost them. After Bridge City's four-run second inning — fueled by freshman Matt Hicks' three-run double — that proved to be enough to advance Bridge City to the Region III final. Carthage appeared to be on its way to manufacturing runs in the bottom of the second and third innings that would get it back in the game. However, Derrick "Bubba" Loofboro's two-out single to right resulted in Matt Akin, who reached base on a single to center, being thrown out at the plate by Cardinal center fielder Johnny Dishon. In the third, two of Carthage's three outs came on the bases. Leadoff hitter Austin Smith doubled to center on a 3-2 pitch, but was caught in a rundown between second and third base after one pitch to Tate, who flew out to center. Baker then doubled to right on a 1-1 pitch, but was thrown out trying for third. "We made some baserunning errors. We can blame whoever we want to, but it seemed like any little weird thing that (could) happen happened," Schumacher said. "But that's baseball and that's why you still got to go out there and play the game." After the fruitless second- and third-inning scoring attempts, the closest Carthage came to scoring before the seventh was in the bottom of the fifth. Loofboro singled to left with one out, and an out later Tate lifted a deep fly to left that seemed to have a chance to carry out and cut Bridge City's lead in half. However, Bridge City's left fielder made the catch against the wall, keeping the Bulldogs off the scoreboard and Navarro-bound Tate from recording his 11th homer of the season. Tate entered the game in relief of Baker with two outs in the top of the fifth and kept Bridge City from adding to its lead. Baker shouldered the loss, giving up four runs on five hits in 4 2/3 innings. In the bottom of the seventh, Cody Whitaker — who entered the game at third as part of defensive changes once Tate moved from short to the mound — drew a leadoff walk, which was followed by a double down the first-base line by Taylor Harris to put two on with no outs. But after Loofboro worked the count full and fouled off a pitch, Meeks forced him into a popout and then struck out Austin Smith on a 2-2 pitch to put the Bulldogs down to their last out. Tate then delivered with his two-run single, scoring Whitaker and Tyler Bradstreet, who ran for Harris. But Stringer, a left-hander, came in to face the lefty Baker and got the groundout to first to end the series. Garrett Smith, who hit cleanup and led the Bulldogs in batting average, RBIs and stolen bases this season, led Carthage with three singles and a steal, finishing the series 5-for-6. Loofboro went 2-for-3 (4-for-6 in the series), and Baker and Harris each added a double. Austin Smith, Akin and Tate each singled. Carthage loses 12 seniors off its 21-man roster, including players like Tate and Baker who were key parts of the Bulldogs' 2005 state title team as sophomores. "I think that senior class is the example of what Carthage baseball is," Schumacher said. The Carthage seniors include: Akin, Baker, Tommy Bozeman, Bradstreet, Jace Hamilton, Harris, Logan Joines, Loofboro, Charley Schelhouse, Garrett Smith, Tate and Whitaker. Bridge City, which finished second in District 21-3A, faces 21-3A champion Jasper in the Region III final. Jasper eliminated 20-3A's Lufkin Hudson in the other Region III semifinal. Bridge City is aiming for its third straight trip to the state tournament.

What time is it?

Lets all say congrats to Phillip Meeks. This guy has come up time and time again for the Cards and done a great job. He is an unsung hero to BC. Good job Phillip and keep it up.

A point I have made too. I just don't see Jasper being able to do that even though they are a great team. I have watched BC grow very quickly and become not only a great team but a confident team that isn't going to stop now. BC in 2 because my boys Stringer and Meeks will get the job done.

Quite the accomplishment getting there twice in a row and very close making it 3...Still a lot of work to be done but everyone in OC is proud of the Cards

Of course Ill go with my purple and white..Just great colors for the Indians...As a reporter I know the Lumberton Raiders need to do something about making their numbers stand out a little better. From a pressbox you cant tell what number on the jersey has the ball. There are a few teams like this but Lumberton is the hardest to see, although I do like their colors

I always enjoyed watching her play, congrats

BC + OF Bridgefield And they are the Catbirds Lumberton + Silsbee Silsberton And they are the Raigers

They might not have been Region III but still means Region III is BC's territory until proven otherwise.

Ill take BC..Meeks, Hicks and Clark will be tough to take 2 from plus the Cards confidence is pretty high.

Not bashing the Spurs which I love to do but if its the Pistons vs. the Spurs, someone wake me up after the last game and just fill me in. How boring will that be and how much money will the NBA lose with it being those two teams?

Proud of ya Johnny D. Wish I could head out there and cover it.

Hicks is feeling better and probably could go if needed. Question is would BC go with him over Clark? Clark's lefty offspeed pitching could be the mark to keep the Bulldogs off balanced and it keeps Hicks at short where he is at his best. It can be analyzed a million ways but now people realize Bryant and Co. will make the best decision for the team.

Am I still BC's favorite Gabriel?? ??? Just joking by all means! I meant to meet this Gabriel since it unusual to have two Gabes covering the same series.

Of course everyone is impressed with Dishon and Stringer and for good reason, they came up big when their team needed them to and that is what you expect out of your seniors. Two unsung heroes in the game were freshmen Joe Robertson and Matt Hicks. Both made great plays in the field and helped keep the Bulldogs from doing anymore damage. Hicks' play at short keeping a ball in the infield using his arm basically and then flipping to second for the first out in the seventh was huge. Good job freshmen, you made your presence known in a way that will not show up in any box score. Congrats to all the Cards but don't get satisified, Carthage will be ready on Saturday.

Is it Lady Bobcat basketball season yet?? Im already geared up.

Whatever the case may be, Im proud of you Brett. I got to know Brett on a personal level and he is a great young man. I look forward to hearing only great things down the road from this guy. He's nothing but a winner.

Ill be the first to say the final [move]SPURS WIN 105-96[/move] [move]Gabe gets sick[/move]