| Baseball playoff preview
With the baseball playoffs beginning on Wednesday, now is a good time to breakdown the brackets.
Region III-5A
Favorites:
• Katy - They have the look of a state championship contender. They should - the Tigers' season ended with a loss to the best team in the nation last year in the title game. They have a deep staff (team ERA = 1.52) led by Aaron Daab, Keifer Nuncio and Nick Pepitone, a loaded lineup (team BA = .415) led by Carter Jurica, Michael Fuda and Andrew Stumph and plenty of playoff experience on the roster.
• Cy-Fair - Many of the pieces might have changed but two wins over Langham Creek prove that the Bobcats have what it takes to play with the big boys. There's just enough experience on that roster from last year to make Cy-Fair a threat, especially with a three-man rotation of Tommy Collier, Brandon Finken and Logan Moss. Collier, Jon Ogden and Cameron Goff have combined to hit 21 homers so you know there's pop in the lineup as well.
• Bellaire - You can't go 31-1 and not be a threat. They've been one of the most productive offensive teams in the area. Matt West, Mark Robichau, Jeremy Schaffer and Sean Lamont have combined for 30 home runs and 167 RBIs. Plus, sophomore Tyler Duffey has shown he can win big games - he picked up two wins against Westside.
• Langham Creek - Of course, you count out a team that is 28-2 and was nationally ranked for much of the year. When healthy, they have one of the deepest pitching staffs around (team ERA = 1.20) in Corey Maines, Matt Rein, Kendal Korbel and Andrew Benak. The question for the Lobos is, will their bats be consistent enough to pick up runs against other big time starters when crunch time rolls around?
Don't count out:
• Memorial - The Mustangs are another of the area's better hitting teams. It just doesn't get much better in the 3-4 spots than Cliff Vaughn (.427, 11 HR, 34 RBI) and Kevin Ahrens (.396, 7 HR, 34 RBI). Pitching will be the catalyst for them too. They have some solid starters (see: Daniel Clark, Gregg Laswell) but no dominant ``ace'' per se.
• Stratford - The Spartans are the opposite of their rival Memorial. They have a heck of a 1-2 punch at the front of the rotation in Matt Evers and Barret Loux, but the question is will they get enough offense to pull out the big games? If Evers and Loux are on, they may not need a lot of runs.
• Deer Park - On paper, it appears to be all about Chase Hernandez, who has been the team's best player both offensively and on the mound. However, the Deer didn't go 25-5 with just him. They have solid hitting (team BA = .363) and good pitching (team ERA = 1.84). Dalton Schafer has been a viable No. 2 pitcher.
• Westside - Between junior ace Taylor Wall, Corey Triche, Ryan Still and Michael Goodnight, the Wolves have enough arms to throw at just about anybody. They have beaten pretty much every team they're ``supposed to,'' as well. Their only five losses have come to: Kingwood, Klein Collins, Memorial and Bellaire twice. Not bad.
• Clear Lake - Remember, it wasn't long ago that this team raced out to a 19-0 start and was in the top five. They come from a tough district (24-5A) and they seem to find ways to win. Don't forget that this team had a nice little run to the Region III-5A semifinals before eventually bowing to Katy. Don't think the Falcons don't have it in them again.
Sleepers:
• La Porte - The Bulldogs have a nice 1-2 combination in their rotation consisting of Boogie Anagnostou and Garrett Steward. Both are high strikeout guys who are capable of shutting teams down on a given night.
• Elkins - Hard to call a team that won District 23-5A a sleeper. In fact, I'm not sure they don't belong in the ``Don't count out,'' category. No matter, they have a lot of nice pieces on their team like Kyle Bates, Blake Bradbury, Duke Dykeman and Rex Garner.
• Beaumont West Brook - Some may not like the district they played in, but I say baloney. There were enough good teams there to make a viable option out of West Brook as a team that could go deep. The Bruins can hit with just about anybody out there.
• Spring Woods - This is what you might call a ``deep sleeper.'' The Tigers have one big-time pitcher, Steven Hooker. They start the postseason with a one-game playoff against Bellaire and if they pull of an upset and can continue to have things fall their way (read: coin flips) and get one-gamers against some teams, it's possible they could go a few rounds. Remember Clear Creek last year? You never know...
Who do you think has the best shot to come out of Region III? What teams do you think might sneak up and surprise somebody? Let us know.
Also, check back here on Wednesday as we look at the other brackets, including Region II-5A and Region III-4A.
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