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Matt Hicks / Ty Parker

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adminbaberuth

adminbaberuth

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Every few years players come through that really know the game and perform at the highest level in the most pressure atmosphere, these two showed how to play the game.

I've been around awhile, Ty Parker of Jasper is in my top 5 of all-time high school players at the plate.

If a young player wants to play the game of baseball like it's supposed to be played and could walk in his shoes for 7 innings, No.5 for Bridge City would be where I start.
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macshelby

macshelby

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[quote name="adminbaberuth" post="807668" timestamp="1275225844"]
Every few years players come through that really know the game and perform at the highest level in the most pressure atmosphere, these two showed how to play the game.

I've been around awhile, Ty Parker of Jasper is in my top 5 of all-time high school players at the plate.

If a young player wants to play the game of baseball like it's supposed to be played and could walk in his shoes for 7 innings, No.5 for Bridge City would be where I start.

[/quote]
[color=red][font=Verdana]
[font=Verdana][font=Verdana]Matt Hicks  Bc #5 [/font][/font][/font][/color]will be remembered around this area a long time as one of the favorite and most dedicated players in his sport. He gives 110% anytime he's on or off the field. What a privilege it must have been for BC and Coach Landry to have played alongside this great athlete. He was definitly a Fan Favorite !!! The youth of this area has been given a tremendous role model to follow. Good luck to Matt at ULL and the Ragin Caguns don't know what a gift they are getting! Pleasure watching you all these years. Gonna miss #5. (BC should just go ahead and retire your jersey cause nobody gonna ever fill those big shoes!)
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Gabe

Gabe

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Everyone knows my feelings towards Hicks. He set the standard of how to be a student athlete in HS. Joe Robertson and Luke Rhodes will also be very missed in BC. These two guys also played a long time in BC and deserve some credit.

From what I know of Ty, Jasper fans should feel the same way. I am yet to meet him face to face but he seems to be an extremely great kid.

I am proud of both teams. The entire team is built with warriors. It is a testament to their coaches, parents and communities.

Retire both Ty and Matt's numbers. Nobody can fill these two young mens' shoes.
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braves24

braves24

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It was tough to watch Matt run off the field for his last time as a Cardinal, it just doesn't seem right. He gave it his all for 4 years, every scrimmage, Tournament, everything and he pitched great Thurs and yesterday but the offense just couldn't get it going. Also big thanks to Luke Rhodes and Joe! I think Luke should sign somewhere, I would be willing to bet he batted at least 600 in the playoffs.


Retire No. 5
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AIW

AIW

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Being new to orange county sports , I can honestly say I was so grateful to see such a fine player as Matt Hicks . He is a great young man, great values, and an AMAZING baseball player. I am so glad I got to see him play. Good luck  to him. He has a very bright future.
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braves24

braves24

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On a warm afternoon like this, with the stakes so high on a stage so bright, some high school pitchers might have wished they'd taken up knitting.

Or maybe cheerleading. Gardening. Underwater basket-weaving. Anything but standing on the mound Saturday at Vincent-Beck Stadium, with their teams' fate in their hands, with a trip to the Class 3A state tournament on the line and their hearts racing faster than a Mustang.

In the decisive Game 3 of this regional final series, Jasper put its faith in a left-hander who'd already thrown the day before.

Bridge City put its faith in a freshman.

Years from now, Justin Parsons won't remember the pain brought from pitching 10 innings in less than 24 hours.

Years from now, Matt Hicks won't remember the pain that comes from rising above all reasonable expectations, then walking off the diamond with only a loss to show for it.

Everyone might remember how the Bulldogs piled on top of Parsons after they clinched a 2-1 victory in front of a raucous crowd Saturday.

But more than anything, the two pitchers will both remember the show they put on during the biggest baseball game of the year in Southeast Texas.

Hicks, a freshman, calmly lasted 5 2/3 innings for the Cardinals, allowing five hits while striking out five. Of the two runs he allowed, only one was unearned; it came in the first inning after two errors.

Bottom line: It wasn't Hicks' fault the Cardinals lost.

It wasn't the first time Hicks had to deliver in the clutch. He had started Game 3 of the Cardinals' area-round series against Wharton, and he didn't disappoint, allowing two runs over 6 1/3 innings of a Bridge City win.

"He did a great job," Cardinals coach Billy Bryant said. "He's a special player, and he'll be good for Bridge City for a long time."

Then there was Parsons. The night before, he had merely thrown three innings in the Bulldogs' Game 2 loss.

He told his coach, Shawn Mixon, he would go again Saturday until he couldn't go any longer.

"If we had to use all four of our pitchers, we were gonna use all four of our pitchers," Mixon said. "Parsons wouldn't let that happen."

Parsons calmly lasted all seven innings on the big stage in Game 3, allowing one run on five hits. He struck out four, walked one and only allowed two runners to reach third base after the second inning.

"The thing about Justin (is that) he's really comfortable out there," Jasper catcher Blake Weller-Alexander said. "He doesn't let pressure get to him."

Pressure? Are you kidding?

All that rested on this game was a trip to state. Fantasies came true for the winning players, who left the stadium as local heroes and got more hugs than a sensitivity trainer.

As for the players in the other dugout, they had to agonize over all the little moments that left them short.

Then there was the stage.

Some 2,126 fans showed up in Vincent-Beck Stadium for Thursday night's Game 1 - more than for times the average crowd for a Lamar home game (484) and almost twice the size of Lamar's biggest draw of the year against Rice (1,312).

"It doesn't surprise me at all," ticket taker Debbie Long said Friday. "I expected about 3,000 here, because high school sports always draw well. ... It's just a shame the (Lamar) Cardinals couldn't draw as well. They play some really good baseball."

Saturday's crowd wasn't quite as large, but it still filled most of the seats in Vincent-Beck.

And at times, both teams played like they might have suffered a case of stagefright.

They combined for 20 errors over 21 innings - and that doesn't include the handful of other mental lapses, be they on the bases and in the batter's box.

Meanwhile, with everyone else's nerves melting in the heat, Hicks and Parsons showed all the emotion of a tax collector.

"We were just relaxed," Parsons said. "When they scored their one run, I was thinking, 'Well, they're not going to score any more.' "

Luckily for him, Jasper did score one more, breaking a 1-1 tie in the bottom of the sixth.

It came after Hicks, a freshman, probably should have been out of the inning.

With one out and a runner on third, Bridge City failed to turn a double play because Chase Warner's throw from first to third wound up plunking second baseman Troy Bolton instead.

In a series with plenty of freakish plays, it was the freakiest of them all. It also allowed John Bradley to come to the plate and get an RBI single off of Hicks, a freshman.

One other thing: On a day that would have wrecked even the steeliest big-league pitcher (see: Clemens, Roger), Hicks allowed just one walk. Did we mention he was a freshman?

That was a sensation Parsons already knew something about.

"He's been pitching varsity games since he was a freshman," Weller-Alexander said. "Most freshmen really crack. He doesn't. I give him full props on that."

As the sun dropped closer toward the horizon Saturday, both teams headed for their buses. The Cardinals went home for the offseason, while the Bulldogs went home to a party.

The day belonged to Jasper.

But only two people owned the pitcher's mound
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Gabe

Gabe

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[quote name="Hupernikomen" post="808051" timestamp="1275401758"]
Cool article.

Was the kid who threw for BC this year in game 2 a freshman?

I was amazed at how well Hicks threw in game 3.  He didn't seem to tire at all.
[/quote]

Game 2 starter was Forrest Zoch, a senior
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braves24

braves24

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[quote name="Critter" post="808083" timestamp="1275408291"]
2 of the best players I have ever seen in HS baseball...  Even with all of the talent BC puts out each year.  Also, very impressed with Parkers bat, very patient hitter. Is Parker going to play college ball?
[/quote]

Texarkana, I believe.

The article was from 2006..just showing some appreciation for how good Hicks has been all 4 years.
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Critter

Critter

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[quote name="BCgrad05" post="808112" timestamp="1275412852"]
[quote author=Critter link=topic=70154.msg808083#msg808083 date=1275408291]
2 of the best players I have ever seen in HS baseball...  Even with all of the talent BC puts out each year.  Also, very impressed with Parkers bat, very patient hitter. Is Parker going to play college ball?
[/quote]

Texarkana, I believe.

The article was from 2006..just showing some appreciation for how good Hicks has been all 4 years.
[/quote]

I remember hearing here at work to watch out for this little shaggy haired kid named Matt Hicks from a co-worker.  He told me that this kid was going to be the real deal when he gets into High School, so therefore I listen to my co-worker more now.....lol
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GingerSnap

GingerSnap

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Shaggy hair?  ;D

[img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs198.snc3/20573_1253460948385_1585396692_30596942_3009695_n.jpg[/img]

[img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs178.snc3/20573_1253482268918_1585396692_30596995_981984_n.jpg[/img]
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GingerSnap

GingerSnap

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[quote name="shsu87" post="808192" timestamp="1275423805"]
Gingersnap,  I still say Matt should have pick Sam Houston,  I know someone that would be willing to go back for a couple years and keep an eye on him,,LOL
[/quote]
I'm sending him far away from your influence!  :o
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braves24

braves24

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[quote name="GingerSnap" post="808185" timestamp="1275423359"]
Shaggy hair?   ;D

[img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs198.snc3/20573_1253460948385_1585396692_30596942_3009695_n.jpg[/img]

[img]http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs178.snc3/20573_1253482268918_1585396692_30596995_981984_n.jpg[/img]
[/quote]

Wow! Thanks so much lol

Is the first pic from High School or pony?
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