Yoakum, Shiner looking for better luck on the field
Coin flips go against both teams in quarterfinal round
Thursday, May 17, 2007
Mike Forman, Advocate Sports Writer
VictoriaAdvocate.com Article |
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Neither Yoakum nor Shiner has any control over the toss of a coin but the
Bulldogs and Comanches can determine what happens once they step on the
field.
Yoakum and Shiner lost coin flips to decide the format of their regional
quarterfinal playoffs but they're more concerned with the outcome.
Yoakum (19-4) will take on Falfurrias (25-5) in a best-of-three game
Class 3A series beginning Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Blossom Athletic Center
in San Antonio.
Shiner (23-2) will meet Bremond (15-5) in a one-game
Class 1A playoff Friday at 7:30 p.m. at Round Rock High School.
Yoakum and Falfurrias will play for the first time since the Bulldogs won
two of three games in a regional final series in 2005. The Bulldogs
prevailed in Games 1 and 3 and advanced to the state tournament where
they lost in the semifinals. The teams didn't play last season but
Falfurrias advanced to the state tournament and lost in the final.
"I know they have one pitcher (Jason Garcia) who throws pretty hard,"
Yoakum coach Jace Wood said of the Jerseys, who are ranked No. 3 in the
Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association poll. "They're a team that
usually plays the heck out of defense. They can swing the bats and they
try to get into the pitcher's head by faking a bunt and getting ahead in
the count."
Although Wood would have preferred to play a single game with left-handed
pitcher Covey Morrow on the mound, he was pleased with the Bulldogs'
performance in sweeping a best-of-three game area series over La Feria.
"We did lose a flip but we've shown we can play a two-out-of-three," Wood
said. "I thought we competed very well. We've got several kids who can
come in and throw if we need them."
The key for Yoakum against Falfurrias could be how well the Bulldogs
perform at the plate.
"It's the same thing," catcher Cullen Harper said. "We need to be patient
at the plate, make their pitcher throw strikes and hit good pitches. We
also have to play good defense behind our pitchers."
Shiner went to three games before defeating Normangee in their area
series and the Comanches were hoping to play another series against
Bremond. But the Tigers won the flip to play a single game and look to
ride the pitching of left-hander Jason Drymalla, who pitched a no-hitter
and had 17 strikeouts in a 9-2 area win over Thrall.
"They're athletic and they count on their pitcher to get a lot of
strikeouts," Shiner coach Daniel Boedeker said. "One thing we've been
stressing to our players is to shorten their swings and take a two-strike
approach. They need to stay short with their swings and put the ball in
play."
The Comanches, who are ranked No. 1 in the THSBCA poll, will send left-
hander Kyle Condel to the mound. Condel was the winning pitcher in Games
1 and 3 against Normangee. Shiner is seeking to duplicate its offensive
output in Game 3 against Normangee. The Comanches scored 10 runs in the
fourth inning and won via the 10-run mercy rule.
"We need Kyle to pitch well, our defense has to back him up and
offensively we have to hit the ball," Shiner catcher Mark Casteel said.
"We have to stay short with our swings and not try to do too much."
Boedeker believes going to a Game 3 against Normangee will help the
Comanches in their winner-take-all situation against Bremond.
"It's a one-game deal but it came down to one game against Normangee,"
Boedeker said. "We faced a little pressure and our kids we're really
focused in on what they had to do."
Mike Forman is a sports writer for The Victoria Advocate.
Contact him at 361-580-6588, or by e-mail at
mforman@vicad.com.
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