Long, Brenham know Bears well

[KFDM COOP]

Long, Brenham know Bears well

Van Wade

The Orange Leader

It had to happen.

The Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears and Brenham Cubs will duke it out yet again in the Class 4A Region III playoffs.

Coach Steve Griffith’s “Cardiac Bears†(24-12) made sure of that Tuesday when they rallied back from a 4-0 deficit in the seventh inning to turn back third-ranked Buda Hays 5-4 in nine innings.

The Bears received a game-winning RBI single from senior catcher Stefan Leger in the bottom of the ninth. Leger drove in senior outfielder Tim Barry, who had collected a one-out single. Then there was senior Stefan Cloeren, who with two outs and two strikes against him in the bottom of the seventh, ripped a game-tying RBI single.

The Bears also received a stellar pitching performance from Shane Waddell, who helped keep the explosive Rebels at bay.

One thing for certain, the Bears’ win over Hays certainly didn’t surprise long-time Brenham coach Jim Long.

“That LC-M comeback showed the character of that team and their leadership from Coach Griff (Griffith) and Wayne (Stephenson),†said Long. “Baseball is a funny game. The game is never over until that final out. One thing about LC-M always, is that they don’t go down quietly in the night. You have to battle them and battle them. Their confidence never waivers.â€

Both Long and Griffith are two of the premier coaches in the state in the Class 4A ranks. When they hook up Friday, more than 800 wins will be coaching on the field. Griffith nabbed win No. 402 Tuesday. Long has more than 400 wins in his 14 campaigns in Brenham.

“What else can we say,†said Long. “We’re two guys that love the game. It’s certainly not us two fellas doing everything though. We’ve both been blessed to work with amazing young men, who have a lot of talent and good assistants to boot to go with it.â€

The Bears and Cubs have met plenty of times before in the playoffs. Brenham has gotten the best of the Bears of late. Many Bear fans, though, can remember the 1996 season when LC-M defeated Brenham on its way to the Class 4A State Tournament. The Bears also frequent the prestigious Brenham Tournament each year.

LC-M lost to the Cubs 10-4 at the Brenham Tournament this season.

“We’re very familiar with each other,†said Long. “I guess you can call it a friendly rivalry. We’ve had some dandy playoff games in the past. It’s always a pleasure to have the Bears up here at our place in our tournament each year.â€

Brenham (26-3), meanwhile, nipped the Barbers Hill Eagles 3-2 in a nailbiter in the area round.

“Let’s just say we squeaked by,†said Long. “You never know what can happen in those one-game deals. Barbers Hill is one of those teams that are always strong too. We didn’t play our greatest game, that’s for sure. Thank goodness we were able to move on.â€

The Cubs actually didn’t win District 18-4A, that honor went to Magnolia, who defeated Port Neches-Groves 1-0 in a wild 13-inning affair in the area round Tuesday.

Magnolia will now face District 20-4A champion Nederland in the regional quarterfinals this week.

Long feels that 18-4A and 20-4A are two of the best 4A districts in the state, hands down.

“From top to bottom, our league is so hard to get through every year,†said Long. “There are no easy games and you better have some good pitching each year because of all the hitters we’ve had in our district for years. In 20-4A, it’s basically the same thing. LC-M has always hit the ball extremely well with pitching to back them up. Nederland, Port Neches-Groves, they’re both the same way. When you talk about our two districts, you’re talking about two of baseball’s finest.â€

The Cubs hammered Elgin 12-1 and 14-0 in bidistrict play.

Brenham, as usual, relies on a solid pitching staff led by the likes of Chase Wellbrock (9-0) and Ty Schlottmann (8-0).

Wellbrock has a 1.17 earned run average through 60 innings of work, striking out 70 while walking just seven. Schlottmann has a 2.70 ERA in nearly 50 innings.

Erich Weiss leads the Cubs’ lineup with a .528 batting average this season to go along with 15 doubles, three triples, three homers and 31 RBIs. Leadoff man Drake Roberts is batting .398 with eight doubles, two triples, four homers, 32 RBIs and 15 stolen bases, and Preuss is batting .366 with 11 doubles, six home runs and 39 RBI.

[lcmfan]

If I am not right on, I am close.

But I think LCM has knocked Brenham out of the post season three times and Brenham has knocked LCM out of the postseason three times.

lcm won in 1996, 2000, and 2004

brenham won in 1999, 2003, and 2006

[adminbaberuth]

If I am not right on, I am close.

But I think LCM has knocked Brenham out of the post season three times and Brenham has knocked LCM out of the postseason three times.

lcm won in 1996, 2000, and 2004

brenham won in 1999, 2003, and 2006

The Bears might as well go up 4-3 in 2009.

[bearbooster]

tuesday's come from behind win was a great one, but I don't know how this story gets written without mention of the 2000, series tied at one, game three, bottom of the thirteenth win by the bears.

[bearbooster]

I sure don't like how this article reads. "Brenham has gotten the best of the Bears as of late"

baseball playoff meetings

they won in 86

we won 96

they won 99

we won 2000

they won 2003

we won 2004

they won 2006  (this must be the "as of late"?)

[td]

I sure don't like how this article reads. "Brenham has gotten the best of the Bears as of late"

baseball playoff meetings

they won in 86

we won 96

they won 99

we won 2000

they won 2003

we won 2004

they won 2006  (this must be the "as of late"?)

If your stats are correct (and I'm sure they are) it looks like the Bears win every other time they play and since they won the last time the two played in 2006 then it's the Bears turn to win. Good luck

[thefan2]

IMO  Bears will win game one 5-3.