KFDM COOP Posted April 10, 2008 Report Posted April 10, 2008 Do or die for ‘Dogs in Mid-County clash By Cody Pastorella The Port Arthur News The Nederland Bulldogs have been backed into a corner in District 22-4A baseball. Coming off a scary 5-4 victory over the winless Central Jaguars on Tuesday, the Dogs are owners of a 5-4 mark and sit in a fourth place with the Ozen Panthers in the district standings. The Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears and Vidor Pirates are tied in second place at 7-2. Mathematically, Nederland still has hope. That window for hope is getting smaller and smaller, however, as tonight's 7 o’clock matchup with first place Port Neches-Groves closes another week of baseball and leaves the Dogs with just four more games (Ozen, LC-M, Dayton (3-5) and Lumberton (2-6). "We're still in this," said Nederland head coach Cody Robbins, whose club has yet to beat a team with a better district record. "We're still very much in this if we get a win Friday night. We understand the situation and the guys on this team know what we're up against.†The last time these two teams met, the Bulldogs lost control of a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning at Nederland. The ‘Dogs managed to tie the game at 4-4 in the bottom half of the fifth but ended up falling 7-6. Three weeks removed from that game and Nederland and PN-G are headed in two different directions. While the boys in black and gold have been rather stagnant with sporadic pitching and spotty hitting, the Tribe has just one district blemish, which came in a close, 4-3 decision to Vidor in eight innings. Since then, the Indians have been on a roll and, after delivering Tuesday's 11-1 romp over the Bears in Mauriceville, which improved PN-G to 8-1, the first-place Indians seem to be blossoming at the right time. "Nothing changes," said PN-G head coach Jay Stone. "We haven't altered or changed our practices or anything like that. We're still doing the same things we've been doing all season. We just have to stay focused." Stone also said he doesn't feel his squad will let up tonight at the Reservation just because of Tuesday's impressive win. "That was a big win for us but every win is a big win," he said. "And that's what's good about this game. Playing a cross-town rival, playing against a quality team like Nederland, we don't have to do anything special to get psyched up for this game. "It's two communities who always want to get the best of the other no matter the records or who has done what that year. You always want to win this one." Mitchell Todd is the likely starter for the Tribe. Nothing is set in stone but Todd has been the regular Friday starter all season. The right-handed curve-baller has a 6-1 overall record with a 4-1 district mark. He has a 1.12 ERA on the season. Staff ace Eric Harrington should also be available in a pinch. In PN-G's win over LC-M, Harrington only tossed 70 pitches in his six innings of work. With the win, Harrington improved to 5-0 on the season. He also has two saves and an ERA under 1.00. "He (Harrington) will definitely be able to give us an inning or two if we need him," Stone said. "He's coming off two days rest and he only threw 70 pitches, so he is fine."
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