Astros2009

What's that old saying? "Good pitching beats good hitting!" Great job Josh Moore!

Any weather report on this game?

Lions had outstanding pitching and defense tonight for seven innings.  The bats finally got hot at crunch time.  Nederland played well too, but Livingston really made a statement with this win. 

Livingston 9, Pasadena 1.  Livingston 4 Westbrook 2.

I was there last night. It was a fun game to watch and very exciting. Hats off to the PNG faithful for turning out in droves. With that said, I was a little mystified at some of the pregame theatrics on the PNG side of the field. The PNG coach seemingly waited until the last minute to bring his team out of the locker. And the whole deal with the Indian mascot dancing on the 50 yard line of the other teams field was definitely bush league. It reminded me of the time Terrell Owens did his dance on the Cowboys star at Texas Stadium when he was with the 49ers. No class! Newsflash: all that does is motivate the other team! Oddly enough, the line shows PNG had more penalty yards than Livingston.

This could certainly be a WIN/WIN situation for Coach Kirkland and the Lions. But for a few bad breaks at the end of the season in very close games, Livingston could have easily finished second in the district. This is a team that swept PNG, split with LCM, and pretty much was in every other district game they played. They will be a team loaded with lettermen next season including 7 Senior and 2 Junior starters; and two returning All-District pitchers. Beyond that, the whole team is comprised of kids who are solid citizens. Livingston "flys under the radar" in 20-4A because they are on an island by themselves in the Northwest corner of that district. All they need next year is competent leadership, perhaps a little "fine tuning," and there's no reason to think the Lions couldn't legitimately compete for the district championship next season--and even make a deep run into the playoffs. Moreover, as the Lions stayed in the playoff hunt throughout this past season, community fan support began to grow. Livingston is a community that is ready to support a winning baseball program. If Kirkland is in fact headed to Livingston, I would like to extend to him and his family a big hearty WELCOME to Lion Country! 

I'm guessing both teams will have their number 1 pitchers on the mound and everyone will be well rested. Livingston is hot right now and it's either win or the end of the season for Vidor. I'm thinking it could be one of those games where every pitch means something and everyone is on the edge of their seat. If I had to guess, I'd say Livingston in a nail biter.... 5-4.

Livingston is going to have 8 defensive starters returning next year (including their top 2 pitchers) if everyone comes back. If they aren't the team to beat in 20 4A next year, they should certainly be in the running.

Lions have really got to cut down on the fielding and throwing errors that have started to manifest themselves in the last two games. Livingston has suprisingly deep pitching that I'm not sure others in the district truly appreciate. They played flawless defense against PNG and they won. If they can play with that same level of focus against LCM, it could be a very good game.

Livingston wins 6-5. Scrappy effort by Ozen. They are not to be underestimated.

3-1 Livingston top of the third.

Josh Moore pitched 4 innings and Andrew Lantrip pitched 3 innings for Livingston. Solid pitching by both. Moore pitched out of several jams occasioned by defensive errors. Lumberton stranded multiple runners. Three run home run by Lions DH Blake Burman.

Livingston 10, Central 3. Top of the fourth.

7:00 Friday at Livingston Pedigo Park.

I don't know that either game was truly an "upset." The PNG/Livingston result may have been more of a surprise to some because Livingston is sort of an "out of the way" school in 20 4A and doesn't get much of the local interest and media exposure that most of the Golden Triangle area teams get. Most of these athletes from around the Beaumont/Port Arthur area are familiar with each other from years of playing in youth leagues, select ball, all stars, etc.. There's no doubt that Livingston has some very good high school athletic talent across the board and the fact that they are now apparently very competitive in baseball should really not come as a surprise to anyone.

You can say what you want to about Port Neches' pitching (good), coaching decisions (okay) and baserunning (questionable). This Livingston team really stepped up and put together a solid game. Moore pitched seven quality innings and pretty much competed with the heralded Stone pitch for pitch. Home runs from Will Hon (rf), Tyler LeBlanc (2b) and Moore (p) suggests some depth and power throughout the Lions' lineup. Livingston also has good speed on the bases and in the outfield. They are solid at catcher, up the middle and at the corner infield positions. Perhaps the most telling statistic of all is that the Lions put together 11 innings with ZERO errors in the field. The scary thing is that the starting lineup last night for Livingston consisted of 2 sophomores, 6 juniors and only one senior. They should only get better as the season progresses. Livingston may have surprised the Indians last night. I doubt they'll surprise anyone else for the rest of the season. They appear to be the real deal.