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Cards Defeat Seattle, Take WAC Opening-Round Game James Dixon, Assistant AD/Media Relations Despite falling behind 3-0 in the first inning, Lamar University rallied to defeat Seattle, 6-4, Wednesday afternoon in their WAC Championships opening-round game from Hohokam Stadium. Not only was Wednesday's victory the first WAC tournament win in their first WAC tournament contest, but it was also the Cardinals first conference tournament win since 2013 putting an end to a nine-game postseason skid. Big Red scored their six runs on 12 hits, while Seattle plated four runs on eight hits with an error. Seven different Cardinals recorded a hit, including four players with multi-hit games – Chase Kemp (2-for-5, 1 RBI, 1 run), Ryan Snell (2-for-4, 1 2B, 1 run), Kirkland Banks (2-for-4, 1 run) and Reese Durand (3-for-4). Seniors Matt McDonald and Josh Blankenship each finished the day with one hit but made the most of it with home runs – McDonald to right and Blankenship to left. Braxton Douthit got the start and went 4.1 innings allowing three runs – all earned – on four hits with two strike outs. Despite his strong performance he didn't figure in the decision. Douthit really only ran into trouble in the second inning giving up three runs which the offense quickly got back. Senior Max Mize came on in relief in the fifth inning and went 1.2 allowing just one earned run on three hits to pick up the win to move to 3-0 on the season. Classmate Jack Dallas pitched a scoreless 1.2 to record his 14th save of the season. After Seattle struck for three in their half of the second following a three-run home from Trevor Antonson, the Cardinals responded immediately. Leading off the next half inning, McDonald – a native of Phoenix, Ariz. – laced a 1-2 pitch over the wall in right field. LU just missed going back-to-back as Blankenship also drove a ball ball deep into right field but the ball carried just far enough to right center where the wall goes straight back allowing for an extra seven feet of playing area. The Cardinals grabbed their first lead in the very next inning. After Blankenship just missed a solo shot to opposite field in the second he came back up in the third and crushed a 3-2 pitch to left field clearing the wall with room to spare. The three-run shot gave LU a one-run lead which held until the sixth inning when Seattle tacked on a solo shot off the bat of Matt Boissoneault, but just like in the second inning the Cardinals responded in the next half inning. Three consecutive singles from Ryan Snell, Kirkland Banks and Reese Durand loaded the bases with one out. After a strike out, Kevin Bermudez drew a five-pitch walk followed by a chopper to short off the bat of Kemp – who was originally called out – but after video replay the call was overturned for the second run of the inning allowing another run – the final run of the game – to score. The Cardinals return to action Thursday to face the winner of the No. 1 Grand Canyon vs. No. 4 Abilene Christian contest. The game is slated to begin at 7 p.m. (9 p.m. Central time) from Hohokam Stadium in Mesa, Ariz. [Hidden Content]

Late-inning action decides China Spring, Orangefield playoff battle. By Van Wade- Orange Leader The China Spring Cougars outlasted the Orangefield Bobcats 5-4 in Game One of their best-of-three Class 4A Region III Semifinals series Wednesday night at Navasota High School. The Cougars (30-8) rallied from a 3-1 deficit to score four unanswered runs before the Bobcats trimmed the China Spring lead to one in the bottom of the seventh. The Bobcats outhit the Cougars 8-6 for the game but China Spring was able to hang on. Kolby Killough got the win on the mound for the Cougars. He went 6 2/3 innings, allowing eight hits while striking out nine and walking two. Maruca Rosales earned the save, recording a strikeout for the last out. Coop Longron absorbed the loss for the Bobcats. He worked all six innings, allowing six hits while striking out five and walking two. Game Two of the series will be at 4:30 p.m. Thursday at Grand Oaks High School in Spring. Game Three, if necessary, will follow 30 minutes after Game Two. The winner of the Orangefield-China Spring series will face either Carthage or Bellville in the Regional Finals next week. The Cougars scratched in a run in the bottom of the first inning. Brayden Faulkner hit a high fly ball in shallow right that fell and he advanced all the way to third for a triple. He then scored when Cage McCloud had a RBI sacrifice fly to left. The Bobcats tallied three runs in the top of the third inning, thanks to some nice small ball and three hits. Caleb Fregia, who led the Bobcats with three hits from the nine-hole, had a leadoff single to left. Kameryn Henderson then came up with a bunt and Killough made an errant throw to second as both runners was safe. Tyler Shearin, who had two hits on the night, put down a perfect bunt single down the third base line to load the bases. Kyle Michael, who also had two hits and three RBI, then came through big, smacking a two-run single up the middle. The Cougars regained the lead with a three-run bottom of the third. Jase Garrett roped a leadoff single to right centerfield and Faulkner drew a walk. McCloud then singled over short to load the bases with no outs. Trace Necessary brought in Garrett with a RBI groundout to second base. Bryce Tabor promptly laced a two-run triple in the gap into right field to give the Cougars a 4-3 edge. China Spring grabbed a run in the bottom of the fourth. Trevor Black stroked a leadoff triple to right and with one out Garrett reached on an error. Faulkner drove in Black with a sacrifice fly to right to up the Cougars’ led to 5-3. The Bobcats tried to rally in the top half of the seventh. Fregia had a leadoff single up the middle. Henderson reached on a fielder’s choice as Fregia was out at second. Shearin grounded out, moving Henderson to third and Michael plated Henderson with a line-drive RBI single to center. Killough reached the pitch limit after Michael’s at-bat and Rosales got the last out by striking out Kolbie Sowell. [Hidden Content]

Friendswood bats erupt late to beat Brenham Boots Landry blasted a three-run double in the sixth inning to power Friendswood to an 8-4 win over Brenham Wednesday in the opening game of a Region 3-5A baseball semifinal series at Cy Falls High School. The teams were tied 3-3 before the Mustangs erupted for four runs in the sixth to pull away for the victory. Brenham took a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the second on an RBI-double by Cayden Shields. However, Friendswood (26-7) scored twice in the top of the third inning on three Cub errors for a 2-1 edge. Brenham, though, regained the lead at 3-2 in the bottom of the third. Friendswood, though, took the lead for good when Kyle Lockhart punched a two-run single to center for a 4-3 lead. Landry then followed with a three-run double to right-center to clear the bases for a 7-3 cushion. Friendswood’s final run scored on a wild pitch to make it 8-3. Jacob Rogers started on the mound for Friendswood before Dane Perry came on in relief to close out the victory with two strong innings. Written by Ted Dunnam sports editor of the Bay Area Citizen, Friendswood Journal and Pearland Journal.

Game 1 line score China Spring- 5-6-0 O.Field- 4-9-2

Game 1- Friendswood- 8 Brenham- 4 Final

I agree the b.c. youth coaches at that time were very good. Not sure how the high school coaches messed that up? Most of the groups i seen that had winning success starting in youth continued winning in high school, yes there were some that under achieved & yes there were some that were more hyped up by parents that were not actually that good.

I thought baseball & high school coaches at b.c. had alot to do with the demise of that infamous great group of cardinal football players from stjfl?

2ND TEAM SELECTIONS PITCHERS Kyler Baker- Nederland Mason Hernandez- Png Brent Holdren- B.H. G. Driskell- Nederland 1ST BASE Will Eudy- B.H. 2ND BASE Rey Ortiz- G.P. SHORTSTOP J. Saenz- Crosby 3RD BASE Noah Kendrick- Nederland CATCHER Mason Beresford- Nederland OUTFIELD F. Barrientos- G.P. Tommy Reed - Png McKade Massengale- B.H. G. Burton- United J. Londrigan- Crosby UTILITY J. Ramirez- G.P. B. Jacobs- B.H. DESIGNATED HITTER Cade Hollyfield- Nederland

1ST TEAM SELECTIONS Pitchers Brady Corcoran-Nederland K. Kennermer-Crosby B. Gutierrez- United B. Van- B.H. L. Guarnere- Png FIRST BASE G. Kimble- B.H. 2ND BASE C. Underwood- Crosby SHORTSTOP J. Martinez- B.H. 3RD BASE K. Eudy- Crosby \ Adan Soto- Galena Park CATCHER M. Mendez- Galena Park OUTFIELD C. Garrett- B.H. Y. Richardson- Galena Park R. Chiasson- Png B. Gomez- Nederland UTILITY PLAYER C. Faulk- Png DESIGNATED HITTER W. Buntin- B.H.

DISTRICT MVP- Sean Bazmore-JR.- Crosby OFF. PLAYER OF THE YEAR- Nehomar Ochoa- JR- Galena Park CO-DEFENSIVE PLAYERS OF THE YEAR- Brodey Williams- SR.- B.H. \ Larry Johns- SR.- Crosby PITCHER OF THE YEAR- Josue Carrizales- JR.- Galena Park NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR- Sean Gardiner-SO.- PNG COACH OF THE YEAR- Chris Wiggins- Crosby

It's just a simple general way to judge if an age group has a majority of kids that are good at that level with the possibility of it translating thru jr. high & high school each year they stay together & play. One example is the WOS groups that went to the State Championship game 4 years in a row. Anyone that watched those groups play from 8yr old thru 12 yr old football knew they were a very talented group. I'm sure most stayed playing football, which translated into the great success they had in high school. I have no idea about talent levels from Hardin, but if the man says these groups now are more talented then he usually has seen then that's cool, they will get that chance to prove it.

Most area Youth football Leagues dating back to the early 2000's are made up of teams ages 6 to 12 yrs old from towns that will play each other from jr high thru high school. So yes it is a good way to judge which groups will be talented, Imo.

TEAM STATS- GAMES- 55, BATTING AVERAGE- .287, OB%- .384, SLG%- .420, OPS- .805, HOMERUNS- 35, RUNS- 348 1. M. McDonald- 72 for 197, .365 avg., .429 ob%, .559 slg%, .982 ops, 6 HR 2. J. Blankenship- 62 for 177, .350 avg., .452 ob%, .497 slg%, .949 ops, 3 HR 3. K. Weyler- 65 for 209, .311 avg., .393 ob%, .354 slg%, .747 ops, 0 HR 4. R. Durand- 48 for 171, .281 avg., .396 ob%, .392 slg%, .788 ops, 2 HR 5. R. Snell- 45 for 161, .280 avg., .330 ob%, .385 slg%, .715 ops, 3 HR 6. K. Bermudez- 55 for 198, .278 avg., .390 ob%, .480 slg%, .870 ops, 5 HR 7. C. Kemp- 57 for 206, .277 avg., .421 ob%, .432 slg%, .853 ops, 6 HR 8. K. Banks- 34 for 129, .264 avg., .356 ob%, .364 slg%, .720 ops, 1 HR 9. E. Ruiz- 33 for 134, .246 avg., .318 ob%, .388 slg%, .706 ops, 3 HR 10. B. McNaughton- 22 for 123, .179 avg., .261 ob%, .203 slg%, .464 ops, 0 HR RUNS348 BATTING AVERAGE.287 ON BASE PERCENTAGE.384 SLUGGING PERCENTAGE.420 HOME RUNS3

Congrats to Mr. Buchta, you are now on the 7 year clock to win a state championship as Huffman head football coach or this hire will be a failure🙂 #Reagonomics

Very similar scores vs. common opponents, very evenly matched squads

2 evenly matched teams with China Spring having a small edge in overall depth. Both teams have quality coaching & solid pitching staffs. Both teams hit the ball well. It will come down to which team handles the pressure best & makes the least mistakes & errors. Errors were a key factor in China Spring taking out Rusk. I would personally like to see OF advance, but taking feelings out of the equation I think China Spring wins the series & advances.

The McCloud kid pitched a good game to beat Rusk today.

China Spring Cougars Coach: Jesse Lopez (8 Years As Head Coach, 132 Career Wins) 2021 Record:27-5-2/10-0 (District Champions/Regional Quarterfinalist) Returning Starters Brayden Faulkner, Sr, C (.374, 5 HR/18-4A Defensive MVP) Kolby Killough, Sr, SS/RHP (18-4A MVP, 3rd Team All-State)Trace Necessary, Sr, 3B/1B (Off MVP/1st Team All-State) Bryce Tabor, Sr, CF (.295, 19 RBI/1st Team All-District)Alex Martinez, Jr, 3B/RHP (3-1, 91 Ks/18-4A Pitcher MVP) Jase Garrett, Jr, 2B/SS (.373, 20 RBI/2nd Team All-State)Mason Kirk, Jr, 2B/OF (1st Team All-District) J.C. Hughes, So, 1B/DH (.409, 4 2B/H-M All-District)

Cameron Yoe (24-8-1) vs. Diboll ( 34-3)Game 1: Thursday May 26, 7:00pm at Cy Ranch HSGame 2: Saturday May 28, 4:00pm at Cy Ranch HSGame 3: 30 minutes after game 2 (if needed)

Katy (29-7) vs. Strake Jesuit (27-9-2) Game 1: Thurs., May 26, 7pm @ Jersey Village High School Game 2: Friday, May 27, 7pm @ Mayde Creek High School Game 3: Saturday, May 28, 1pm @ Jersey Village High School

Brenham (25-11-1) vs. Friendswood (25-7-1)Game 1: Wednesday, May 25 @ Cy Falls, 7:00 Game 2: Thursday, May 26 @ Cy Falls, 7:00 Game 3: Friday, May 27 @ Cy Falls, 7:00 (if necessary)

Montgomery Lake Creek (26-5) vs. Houston Milby (30-8)Game 1: Thursday, May 26 @ Langham Creek, 7:00Game 2: Friday, May 27 @ Langham Creek, 7:00Game 3: Saturday, May 28 @ Langham Creek, 12:00 (if needed)

China Spring (28-8) vs. Orangefield (28-2-1) Game 1: Wednesday, May 25 @ Navasota, 7:00Game 2: Thursday, May 26 @ Grand Oaks, 4:30Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

Carthage (23-9-2) vs. Bellville (26-5) Game 1: Thursday, May 26 @ Lamar University, 7:00 Game 2: Saturday, May 28 @ Lamar University, 5:00 Game 3: 30 min after game 2 (if necessary)

Even though China Spring won the Quarterfinal matchup, there is still a chance Rusk could get ranked higher then them in that one prophecy poll😎 All jokes aside good season by Rusk & best wishes to all the players in there future adventures in baseball & life