Houston 5A Guaranteed 2 Teams at State Tournament Again

BY RANDY BYERS / COPYRIGHT – 2011 HOUSTON 5A BASEBALL

As High School Baseball goes in the state of Texas, Houston is still; “where it’s at”! For the 4th time in the last 6 years, the Houston 5A Ranks will send 2 teams to Round Rock out of the 4 that qualify.

The Klein Bearkats swept Rowlett in 2 games including an 8 inning, 4-3, thriller in game 1. The Bearkats plowed thru game 2 and collected the sweep with an 8-4 victory.

The Klein Oak Panthers scored 20 runs in their 2 game sweep of Dallas Jesuit and needed nearly every one of them. Oak had a little breathing room in game 1 winning 10-6 but game 2 was certainly a more nail biting event. A late inning 10-9 lead would just hold up and the Panthers would advance.

Klein Oak and Klein now play in the 5A Region II Finals for the right to go to Round Rock.

The Memorial Mustangs and Clements Rangers locked horns in an all-out 3 game slug fest with the two teams plating a total of 53 runs combined. Leads of 6, & 7, runs were not safe in this series as the Rangers and the Mustangs proved to be two of the best hitting teams in all of 5A Baseball. On Thursday the Clements Rangers who were down 6-2, rallied back to take game 1 (7-6). Friday would mark its place in Houston 5A history with an epic slugfest lasting well over 4 hours and witnessed a total of 33 runs scored. The Mustangs were victorious 17-16 but the Rangers had erased a 6 run and a 7 run lead before falling by 1 run late. Saturday’s game featured true heroics from one of the best third basemen in all of H5AB when Jr. Ben Carl left the friendly confines of his third base corner and took the mound for the Mustangs. Carl would surrender only 3 runs in 6IP to the powerful Rangers and with the Mustangs trailing 3-2 late, he would collect the game & series winning 2-RBI hit giving Memorial a 4-3 win and advancing them to the Region III Finals for the second consecutive year. Memorial now plays Brazoswood in the 5A Region III Finals for the right to go to Round Rock

The Brazoswood Buccaneers used brilliant pitching from Bobby Franklin and Brandon Bergen to sweep one of the best Lamar teams in years.  In game 1, Bobby Franklin combined his stingy pitching with the Bucs bats who staged the brilliant come-from-behind, 5-3 victory after trailing 3-1 late. Game 2 witnessed Brandon Bergen’s mastery on the mound holding HISD’s best hitting team in years, to only 2 runs while the blazing bats of the Buccaneers piled on 8 runs to sweep Lamar with an 8-2 victory. Brazoswood now plays Memorial in the Region III Finals for the right to go to Round Rock.

The defending 4A State Champions, Brenham Cubs found themselves seriously challenged for the first time in the play-offs the past 2 seasons when the Santa Fe Indians, who suffered a game 1, (14-5) woodshed beating; would send Rockie Davis to the mound in game 2. Davis absolutely dominated the defending champs in a complete game 1-0 victory, striking out 10 and surrendering only 3 hits to one of the most powerful lineups in all of 4A Baseball. In the 1-0 loss, Sr. Ty Schlottmann matched Davis nearly pitch-for-pitch but surrendered the only run of the contest.  And that’s why they play three gamers as the Cubs asserted their dominance over the Santa Fe in game 3 plating an amazing 18 runs in an 18-7 victory. Brenham now plays Magnolis in the 4A Region III Finals for the right to go to Round Rock.

Dale Westmoreland’s Magnolia Bulldogs made the 2011 4A Region III Finals, an all 17-4A affair sweeping the Friendswood Mustangs in 2. Game one would be an emotional setback that Friendswood never recover from as Magnolia entered their last at bat trailing 6-5 and plated 2 runs to win 7-6. In game 2 the Bulldogs broke out for 7 runs and the Bulldogs pitching shut down the bats of Friendswood allowing only a single run in the 7-1 victory. Magnolia now plays Brenham in the 4A Region III Finals for the right to go to Round Rock.