*2007 SETXSPORTS.COM BASEBALL SUPERLATIVES*

[KFDM COOP]

2007 SETXSPORTS.COM BASEBALL SUPERLATIVES

Released by the editors of www.setxsports.com

Trying to get a group of people to pick a ‘game of the year’ or a ‘catch of the year’ is next to impossible.  The staff at SETXSPORTS.COM, however, does not shy away from the impossible…instead, we embrace it.  Try these out for size…

GAME OF THE YEAR:

JASPER DEFEATS BRIDGE CITY 2-1 TO CLAIM REGIONAL TITLE

This best of three series was tied 1-1 when the ‘Dogs and Cards squared off on a Saturday afternoon to decide who would represent Region III at the state tournament.  Although many suspected this, no one knew that the state champion would emerge victorious in this game.

Jasper coach Shawn Mixon started junior LHP Justin Parsons while BC mentor Billy Bryant countered with freshman phenom Matt Hicks.  The game would all that one would expect.  BC wasted an excellent scoring opportunity in the top of the first when Troy Bolton singled and Johnny Dishon doubled to open the ball game.  They were stranded as Parsons coaxed a strike out, pop up and fly ball to end the threat.  Jasper then got on the board in the bottom of the frame courtesy of two Cardinal errors.  The score remained 1-0 until BC tied the game in the top of the 4th.

Both Parsons and Hicks continued to dominate the game until the bottom of the 6th when Jasper SS Travis Reagan led off with a booming double into the left field corner.  After a ground ball out moved Reagan to third, Mixon went to his bread and butter – the bunt and called for a squeeze.  The ball was popped up and caught by BC 1B Chase Warner who fired the ball toward third to double up the trapped Reagan, only to see his throw deflect off the shoulder of teammate Troy Bolton.  Two outs, man still on third.

After a hit batter placed runners on 1st and 3rd, Bryant made a trip to the mound to see Hicks.  Cardinal ace Jeff Stringer was loose and ready in the ‘pen but Bryant sticks with Hicks to face the next hitter, John Bradley.  Bradley laces a two-out single up the middle and Jasper leads 2-1 after six.  Incidentally, Bryant did bring Stringer in for the final out of the inning.

With three outs remaining, the Cardinals fought back.  After Parsons retired the first hitter, freshman Joseph Robertson reached on a fielding error by SS Reagan.  Parsons steadied himself by striking out the next hitter and, with 2 outs, he was back to the top of the order and Troy Bolton.  Bolton laces the pitch into the left-centerfield gap and CF Taylor Hart’s diving effort deflects the ball away from both he and his teammates.  Robertson is running all the way, rounds third and then has the stop sign thrown up…slips and falls.  The relay goes to SS Travis Reagan who sees Robertson and fires to third…OUT.  Ball game.  Jasper wins 2-1 and the rest, as they say, is history.

OTHER GAMES OF NOTE:

1.   JASPER DEFEATS LIBERTY EYLAU TO WIN STATE – Maybe not a great game in the classic sense but any time you win state…that is a ball game.  The Bulldogs score early and often to win 14-4 and bring home the hardware to SE Texas.

2.   HARDIN-JEFFERSON WINS PLAY-IN GAME 1-0 – After a season of ups and downs, the HJ Hawks and Silsbee Tigers found themselves tied for the third and final playoff spot in 21-3A.  The playoff game was classic.  HJ ace Aaron Treece threw 7 shutout innings to outduel Silsbee pitcher Kevin McDonald 1-0.  The lone run scored on a Dylan Lundy double and Treece pitches out of a 7th inning jam.  The Tigers, who seeming had the district crown in their hands two weeks earlier, were done and the upstart Hawks were playoff bound.

3.   JASPER WINS DISTRICT – The 21-3A crown was on the line when Jasper visited BC on the last Friday of the season.  Although both had playoff spots assured, the fans got their money worth.  Jasper rallied from an early deficit to win 10-8 and, for the first time in recent memory, BC was not a district champ.

4.   HAMSHIRE-FANNETT DEFEATS SILSBEE 11-4 – The entire season had been one of near misses and bad breaks for the HF Longhorns and their last game against Silsbee promised to be more of the same.  The Tigers needed only a win to secure a playoff spot and had staff ace Joel Schooling rested and ready to go.  Instead, the ‘Horns blasted Schooling and the Tigers 11-4 and forced the play-in game.

5.   HELMKE THROWS NO-NO; DEFEATS PNG 1-0 – Nederland’s Beau Helmke did not have the season he thought he would but, on one special night, the senior right-hander was ‘nails’…a no-hitter against Mid County rival PNG in a riveting 1-0 Bulldog win.  And, to make it tougher, Helmke threw his no-hitter with no (that’s right, zero) strikeouts.

6.   WEST BROOK POUNDS STERLING FOR 21-5A LEAD – The 21-5A lead was at stake when Baytown Sterling traveled to Beaumont to take on the West Brook Bruins.  Sterling threw UT commit Hunter Cervenka and the game was tied 1-1 in the 4th when WB’s Tim Ferguson crushed a 2-run homer.  The Bruins scored 5 times, Cervenka was knocked out and the Bruins cruised to a 7-4 win and their 1st district crown since 1995.

7.   JASPER DEFEATS HUDSON 3-1 IN 10 – The opening game of the 3A Regional Semi-Finals was a nail biter to the end.  Tied at one, Jasper outlasted the Hornets from Lufkin Hudson to win 3-1 in 10 innings.  This game had a bit of everything including an appeal that took the apparent winning run away from Jasper.  This game decided the series as the wind left Hudson’s sails.  Jasper won game two 18-1.

PERFORMANCE OF THE YEAR:

DISHON BELTS 2 HOMERS AS BC DEFEATS #1 CARTHAGE 6-2

The Carthage Bulldogs were undefeated and ranked #1 in the State when they tangled with Johnny Dishon and the Bridge City Cardinals in the Regional Semi-Finals.  Playing at Jasper, the teams battled to an early 1-1 tie when Dishon bashed a 2 run homer well over the LCF wall to give BC a 3-1 lead.  When Carthage closed the gap to 3-2, Dishon did it again…another HR, this one a towering shot down the left field line.  BC wins 6-2 and eventually sweeps Carthage out of the playoffs.  For Dishon, it was a crowning achievement on his high school career.

OTHER PERFORMANCES OF NOTE:

1.   MURPHY BELTS 3 HOME RUNS – West Brook traveled to Kingwood to take on the always-tough Mustangs and UH-bound David Murphy did not disappoint.  Starting with a lead-off dinger, Murphy hit not one, not two but three bombs as the Bruins cruised to the district win.  How good was Murphy?  His ‘other’ at bat was a fly ball caught at the wall in center field…that close to a 4th homer.

2.   LISTI WIN GAMES 1…AND GAME 2 – The Huffman-PNG playoff series opened with a marquee matchup between Michael Listi and Eric Harrington.  Neither disappointed as Listi one-upped Harrington by a 1-0 score.  If that wasn’t enough, once Huffman rallied to tie game 2, here came Listi again and he won game 2.  Game, set and match to Huffman.

3.   BACK TO BACK WINS FOR PARSONS – Junior LHP Justin Parsons earned his stripes with his complete game 2-1 win against BC in the Regional Final.  Coach Shawn Mixon liked it enough that he gave Parsons the ball to open the state tournament and he responded with another CG and another win…this one propelling the Bulldogs to the state title game.

4.   LISTI OUTDUELS HALES 1-0 – With Huffman’s season hanging in the balance, senior RHP Michael Listi outdueled Barbers Hill ace Ross Hales 1-0 and allowed the Falcons to distance themselves from the rest of the pack in 21-4A.  A masterful performance and one that put Huffman in the playoffs for 2007.

5.   WHO?  CLARK, THAT’S WHO – With their playoff series tied at one, and projected game 3 starter Matt Hicks injured, Bridge City fans scratched their heads at who would pitch the pivotal game 3 against Needville.  Jason Clark, that’s who…and he responded with a gem as the Blue Jays never knew what hit him.  The left-hander kept them off balance all afternoon and the Cardinals lived to fight another day.

OFFENSIVE PLAY OF THE YEAR:

FERGUSON WALK-OFF RALLIES WEST BROOK – No one thought it would come to this.  21-5A champion West Brook opened the playoff with a best of three series against Pasadena Memorial at Clear Creek and were heavily favored.  Boy, were they wrong.  Trailing 3-2 going to the bottom of the 7th, WB opened the inning with a double off the bat from Mark Serna and bringing Tim Ferguson to the plate.  Ferguson experienced a thrill of a lifetime by blasting the first pitch over the LF scoreboard and lifting the Bruins to a 4-3 win.  And for Memorial?  They were done as the Bruins cruised to a game 2 win.

OTHER OFFENSIVE PLAYS OF NOTE:

1.   JOHN BRADLEY GETS GW RBI – Tied at one in game 3 of their Regional Final, Jasper’s John Bradley lines a two-out single in the bottom of the 6th to break a 1-1 tie as Jasper wins 2-1.

2.   DISHON ‘SLAMS’ BC INTO PLAYOFFS – Tied at 0-0 in the bottom of the 6th, BC loads the bases for Dishon who hits a grand slam that lands somewhere near Newton.  The Cards hold on for a 4-2 win and clinch a playoff spot in 21-3A.

3.   LUNDY DOUBLES IN WINNER FOR HJ – Another 0-0 game, this one the play-in game between HJ and Silsbee and junior infielder Dylan Lundy doubles in the only run in a 1-0 Hawks’ win.  The Hawks make the playoffs and the Tigers don’t.

DEFENSIVE PLAY OF THE YEAR:

REAGAN PICKS ROBERTSON OFF THIRD; JASPER IS GOING TO STATE

It is game 3 of the Regional Finals at Lamar and Jasper has just taken a 2-1 lead over Bridge City going to the 7th inning.  BC freshman Joseph Robertson has reached first with one out on a Travis Reagan error.  After a strike out, Troy Bolton doubles to LCF and the ball deflects crazily in the outfield.  Robertson rounds third, tries to stop and then slips and falls.  The ball is relayed to Jasper’s cutoff man…Travis Reagan.  He recognizes the situation and fires a strike to third, just in time to nail the crawling, scrambling Robertson.  Jasper wins.

OTHER DEFENSIVE PLAYS OF NOTE:

1.   SPIKES MAKES “THE CATCH†– PNG vs. Nederland.  Those two teams almost demand high drama and PNG’s Jerin Spikes provided it with a grab of a lifetime.  As one long-time fan described it, “You just had to be thereâ€.

2.   DISHON’S BACKHAND KEEPS BC ALIVE – The final week of the season was a time of high drama in 21-3A as well.  BC and HJ met to decide a playoff spot and, with the game tied at 0-0 and the Hawks threatening, BC CF Johnny Dishon ran a ball down in the LCF gap that was literally amazing.  The ball was caught, the Hawks didn’t score and…well, you know the rest.  Dishon hit a slam in the bottom of the 6th. 

And, fans…that is is.  Were there others?  All season long.  Great games, great plays, clutch performances.  For all of you who will be here in 2008, it promises to be more of the same.  Only 8 months til practice starts….Play ball !!!!

[Guest Bulldog]

Is it just me or is every other one Jasper beating BC or Jasper making a great play against BC???? The pain never ends.............. :'( :'(