SHINER - A storm may have been brewing inside Daniel Boedeker.
Shiner's Matt Pohler crosses the plate and is greeted by Coy Boedeker when Shiner played Ben Bolt in their regional semifinal game at the Mule Yard at Alamo Heights in San Antonio photo by Angeli Wright, Victoria Advocate
But the Shiner coach was able to maintain a calm exterior during the decisive game of the Comanches' Class 1A regional semifinal series against Ben Bolt.
"I look at how they're handling it and a lot of times I tell them you can't rely on us to do everything for you," Boedeker said. "They have to look at each other and say how are we going to handle this and we've got to fix it ourselves first.
"If we see there's a time for us to step in to get them back together and get them regrouped, that's when we go out and talk to them."
The Comanches fell behind the Badgers 4-0 in the first inning and trailed 5-4 in the fifth before rallying for a 12-5 win.
"They've responded to adversity a lot this year," Boedeker said. "That's what makes us feel good about any situation. We've been through a lot and we did pretty well so we feel good about any situations that we'll be in."
Shiner (27-8) has trailed in the decisive game of every playoff series, but has rallied to move into a best-of-three regional final series against Johnson City (29-5) at the Blossom Athletic Center in San Antonio that gets under way Thursday at 7 p.m.
"At the beginning of the year during practice we'd have a lot of fun," said second baseman Wesley Patek, one of four senior starters. "During these last couple of games when we came back, our chemistry came out in the end. I don't think ordinary teams would do that. We had fun and enjoyed it and that's how we came back."
Shiner had its share of struggles early in the season, but began to come together during District 28-1A play.
"We just came out and played baseball and at first we never had it in our mind to get to state it was just play games," Patek said. "We saw how good we are and we kept getting better and we realized we could go to state."
Class 1A Regional Final
Shiner vs. Johnson City
Best-of-three at Blossom Athletic Center, SA
Game 1, Thursday, June 2 @ 7:00pm
Game 2, Friday, June 3 @ 7:00pm
Game 3, Saturday, June 4 @ 4:00pm (if necessary)
Boedeker admits he brought the team along slowly this season.
"It took us a little while because we were all new and moving people around and trying to find the best spot for them to be successful." Boedeker said. "It seems like there's always somebody else coming through. We just don't rely on two or three guys to get us where we need to be. The whole team at one point or another has done something to help us move on."
Senior Joey Gamez played a critical role for Shiner against Ben Bolt. He started and won Game 1, and came back to win Game 3 in relief.
"We've just got good team chemistry," Gamez said. "All nine of us take our role and do the best we can to make plays. We're a pretty solid team. When someone has a slump day, someone else usually picks them up."
Shiner was hurt by uncharacteristic base running and defensive mistakes against Ben Bolt.
The Comanches have worked hard this week to eliminate similar miscues against Johnson City.
"It was hot and people's minds weren't all the way there." said senior Coy Boedeker. "You just have to prevent those little mistakes that can mean a lot.
"We're one series away from what we've been working for all season every one is ready to work and get after it."
NOTES: The winner will advance to the state tournament. The semifinal games are scheduled for Wednesday at 9 a.m. and noon at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.
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