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Pitching changes pay off for Gilligan, Lamar By Tom Halliburton The Port Arthur News BEAUMONT -- Late into Wednesday evening, Jim Gilligan considered his options and decided he needed to make a significant change in his pitching staff. No doubt Lamar's 30-year head baseball coach has learned and studied as much about pitchers and how to handle a pitching staff as virtually anyone in his sport at any level. Yet each group of individuals presents a new challenge. Gilligan decided this week to move his very effective closer Tim Erickson into a starter's role. That would work if and only if Nederland junior lefthander Justin Walker and Dulles righthander Brian Needham would adapt to new bullpen chores. Walker and Needham answered necessity's call Friday night at Vincent-Beck Stadium, preserving a one-run lead as Lamar defeated Stephen F. Austin 7-4 in an important come-from-behind victory. The Cardinals (13-7, 4-1) are set up with Erickson on the hill for the 1 o'clock series finale today just exactly in line with Gilligan's preference. Perhaps the warmer afternoon conditions may bring LU's bats out of the deep freeze. Lufkin-area product Kevin Thomas had a lot to do with keep Lamar's bats cool, too. A hard-luck loser, Thomas (2-2) carried a 4-2 lead into the seventh-inning stretch when Lamar awakened with a three-run seventh and a two-run eighth. Every topped grounder or shallow fly ball off Travis Dunson's bat turned into gold and did a lot to account for LU's first five runs. Dunson's one-hopper to third was booted to open the door in LU's two-run third inning. Then in the seventh, Dunson's lob to shallow center landed just between the outstretched glove of SFA second baseman Noel Trevino and center fielder Zach Gardner for a two-run single. Two wild pitches chased Dunson to third before Cardinals' first baseman Steven Tucker laced a tie-breaking liner to right, scoring Dunson. That's when Gilligan's new bullpen either had to fish or cut bait. Walker pitched a scoreless eighth. Needham followed with a scoreless ninth, collecting his season's first save. Erickson never vanished to the bullpen. Gilligan never had to second-guess his revised bullpen, either. "I made my commitment the other night," Gilligan explained. "He (Erickson) was in the dugout and he knew he wasn't going to throw." This juggling of Lamar's mound staff definitely had to have unfolded with great anxiety between Jim's right and left ear. His Hardin-Jefferson senior had led the Southland Conference with five saves in 10 appearances. But Erickson also had compiled a league-best .175 batting average. Gilligan realized he had to have Erickson gobble up more innings. "It would have been very tempting to bring Tim in (with LU's 5-4 lead in the eighth). If this were the last game of the season, Tim would have been in. On the other hand, I don't Tim sitting there not knowing what his role is going to be... And the big thing tonight was that Walker and Needham did the job like we needed." At one point in this game, the pitching matchup was Nederland against Nederland. Walker worked the eighth as LU's first reliever for starter and winning pitcher Matt Morgal (3-1). SFA's first reliever for Thomas was freshman righthander Alex Moshier, who allowed three hits and two runs. Lamar did not bring a very impressive bat-swinging display on this night. None of the Cardinals' batters collected more than one hit and the Lumberjacks (9-10, 1-4) owned the upper hand in the hit column, 11-7. SFA also led in extra-base hits, 3-0, thanks to Noel Trevino's solo home run off Morgal and two doubles. Yet the Cardinals have done a better job of fielding this spring than in recent years. They lead the Southland Conference with a sterling .972 fielding percentage. They had no errors while SFA committed two big ones. That can go a long way to making a pitching staff look good, too.

March 21, 2008
3 replies

Bulldogs knock out KP in shootout, 3-1

KFDM COOP posted a topic in SETXsports Archived Threads

Bulldogs knock out KP in shootout, 3-1 The Port Arthur News CROSBY -- Nederland did not have very many bodies but they had enough true blue Bulldogs to survive a 1-1 tie through 100 minutes of playoff soccer Friday night. When faced with a winner-take-all 35-yard shootout against Kingwood Park, coach Rob Bledsoe's Nederlanders completed their 4A bidistrict occasion on a triumphant note, winning 3-1. The Bulldogs (17-4-2) advanced into next Tuesday night's 4A boys area round game against 17-4A champion Lindale, which received a first-round bye in the state playoff bracket. The Nederland-Lindale game will be played in Brenham's Rankin Park at 8 p.m. Junior marking back Jordan Landry was dealing with cramps after this marathon night of chasing Kingwood Park's sensational sophomore weapon Juan Castillo. Under-manned due to injuries and suspensions, the Nederland players bravely endured longer minutes of playing time than normal. Plus a 1-1 tie after 80 regulation minutes translated into two 10-minute overtime periods for both sides. Neither team scored during that stretch either. Therefore the bidistrict warriors began a shootout with Kingwood Park's visiting team going first. The Panthers failed to convert any of their first three shootout attempts while Ian Barnett and Jake Kemp drilled shots into the net for NHS on the Dogs' second and third attempts. Kingwood Park stayed alive briefly by successfully scoring on the fourth attempt and cutting the deficit to 2-1. But freshman Bay Callaway kept Kingwood Park from taking a fifth attempt with a goal that sent the Dogs into a dogpile celebration. "It was a good, clean game," Nederland's Bledsoe said afterwards. "We had several players like Landry, Jordan Wagner and Callaway that stayed on the field practically the entire game. "We went through stretches in this game when a lot of action was happening on their end." The Panthers led in shots on goal, 12-8, and in corner kicks, 7-1. The Bulldogs trailed 1-0 at halftime after Castillo secured a ball because Nederland had failed to clear it out of its own end of the field. Bledsoe sensed a drop in spirits from his troops by intermission. So he changed his alignment and the young Nederlanders responded to Rob's change. Senior forward Logan Butler moved up front and the Dogs changed from more of a 4-5-1 look (with four defenders, five midfielders and a forward) to a 4-4-2 in the second half. The change paid gigantic dividends in the sixth minute of the second half. A Kingwood Park player was whistled for a foul on Butler near midfield. Officials awarded Barnett a direct free kick from about 45 yards out. The junior midfielder's shot was misjudged by the Panthers' goalkeeper and it caromed off his hands and into the net.

March 21, 2008
4 replies

Gambleâ€™s squad big on talent

KFDM COOP posted a topic in SETXsports Archived Threads

Gambleâ€™s squad big on talent By Cody Pastorella The Port Arthur News BEAUMONT â€” After a pair of practices with this year's Port Arthur News/James Gamble Awards team, head coach James Gamble is still getting a feel for the squad. One thing Gamble is sure of is that this year's team is not short on talent. Short is the operative word, however, as this is a much shorter team than the previous groups Gamble has directed in going 4-0 against Houston area opponents coached by Memorialâ€™s Terrul Henderson. Henderson is reportedly bringing three players taller than Ozen's Willie Jefferson, who is Gambleâ€™s biggest player at 6-7. Jefferson, a two-time District 22-4A Defensive Player of the Year winner, is the only true post player Gamble has this year. "This is certainly not a very big team," Gamble said. "And that is definitely a concern because this isn't the size we've had in the past. But a lack in size does not mean we canâ€™t play quality basketball." Gamble added that his team's lack in height will not change his coaching style. "I'm old school," he said. "I only know one way and that's the way we're going to do things. That's what I have confidence in. I think it's ("X's" and "O's") something they (players) are grasping very well." Gamble, who guided Lincoln High School to four state championships in the 1980s and a total of 641 wins, said this year's team doesn't have a real superstar. "We have some very quality talent on this team," he said. "There are some fine athletes here with very good credentials. We have three All-State players, some district MVPs and the list goes on, so we aren't lacking in talent. "It's just a matter of can these young men playing as well as they have to play to win, and everybody is going to have to contribute on this team. "This team doesn't have a real superstar, so we're going to need everyone's best. It's a coachâ€™s responsibility to find the right combination of players and it's the coachâ€™s responsibility to get these boys to develop together." The one player Gamble may be able to lean on for a superstar effort is East Chamber's Tramain Thomas, who is in his second year with the team. Recently named as the Willie Ray Smith Defensive Player of the Year in football, Thomas was the District 24-2A MVP this season and an All-State selection as well. He averaged 22 points, 11 boards, three steals and four assists. Thomas, who has a football scholarship to Arkansas, will be sharing the guard duties with four other Mr. Outside finalists, including Ozen's Breon Johnson, Silsbee's Shannon Robinson, West Brook's Donte Lopez and Hardin-Jefferson's Jarvis Bernard. Robinson, at 5-6, was an All-State selection and the MVP of the Class 3A regional playoffs. He averaged 25 points per game this season, which marks the highest for any player on the team. Joining Jefferson in the paint will be Mr. Inside finalists Ozen's Jacoby Joseph, West Brook's Marcus Malbrough, Central's Jamar Gulley and Nederland's Chris Hammond.