baseball1996

[Hidden Content] JACKSON, Mississippi - A sixth-inning grand slam home run by Northwestern State shortstop Josh Gardiner helped open up an 11-run inning the Demons cruised to a 17-5, 7-inning baseball win over Jackson State Tuesday night.  NSU had 13 hits in the game with Gardiner and Stephen Gandy leading the squad with three hits apiece.  Gardiner, in getting his first career home run, added a career-best and team season-high six RBIs

Pre-season all-southeasttexas first team Pitchers: Ross Hales: Great offspeed stuff and a sneaky fastball. He does a great job of keeping hitters off balance. He is rarely hit hard. Eric Harrington: Bulldog mentality in a Indian body. Very intense competitor that will not give in to anyone. Does a great job of keeping the ball low in the zone. Anthony Fazio: D-1 stuff with good control high in the zone. Must stay healthy. Catcher: Todd Wallace: Dead pull hitter with a LOT of pop. Very quick release. Todd has played a lot of baseball in some big games against top competition. First base: DD Lott: Best defensive first baseman in the area with soft hands. Oh yeah can hit a little too with massive power. Watching him launch baseballs make people say wow. Second base: Dylan Lundy: Dylan is often overlooked but he can flat out play. His best asset is his consistent glove and he knows how to play the game. Very smart player. Shortstop: Thad Lycan: My pre-season pick for MVP. Thad should have a great year at the plate and he is back at short where he will anchor the Bruins defense. Must stay healthy to lead Westbrook back to the playoffs. Third base: VJ Bunner: He has a knack for coming up with a big play in the most crucial time of the game. Very good clutch player. Outfield: Taylor Hart: Hands down the best baserunner in the area with the speed to back it up. He will have another outstanding year and could be MVP. Timothy Barry: Good arm and range with a consistent stick. Great attitude. Jace Statum: This kid seems to get good jumps on the ball off the bat. Very dangerous on the basepaths with his speed. Coach needs to give him the green light and let him go. DH: Casey Jackson: Could possibly have big year if teams don't pitch around him. Must stay healthy. Utility: Ryan Sampere: Ryan can play anywhere very well and also pitch. He has good speed and may be the toughest in the area to strikeout because of his opposite field approach. Relief Pitchers: Josh Gardiner: Very smart pitcher with a very good breaking ball. He can get anybody out because of his savvy. If Ozen's defense plays consistently then he will have a good year on the mound. Matthew Johnson: This kid has a very high ceiling. Good fastball that is improving. The key for him will be his work ethic. He has the size right now but he must watch his weight and not get too heavy. He has the potential to be one of the best to come out of LCM.

I was just wondering why Huffman and Barbers Hill are included in the SETXSPORTS web site. If you include them then why not include the Baytown schools and Laport too, and what about Crosby and Channelview and even Galena Park and New Caney. Where do you draw the line. At least the Baytown schools are included in the local 5A district. Dayton is now included because they are part of the 4A district. What about Liberty. They are closer than any of these schools. I say if you can pick up the local TV channels then you are included in Southeast Texas. If not then you bunch up with the Houston area schools.

MVP candidates: Dishon-BC Ferguson-WB Serna-WB Schooling-Silsbee INF: Lycan-WB McFarland-Ned. Murphy-WB Bunner-Vidor Hart-Jasper Riley-Woodville OF: Calhoun-Silsbee Armstrong-WB Mosely-Ned. Roebuck-HJ Catcher: Rowell Jackson Pitchers: Helmke-Ned. Reagan-Jasper James-Ozen Fazio-Kelly Utility: Wallace-WB Gardiner-Ozen I do not include BH players because they are included in the Houston area.