|
 |
Highlanders set to face No. 1 nationally ranked A&M Consolidated tonight
|
| By: Darrell Hamlett, Assistant Sports Editor |
May 15, 2003 |
|
 |
TWHS senior standout Brad Depoy, who takes the hill tonight against No. 1 A&M Consolidated, has had plenty of things to smile about this season. (Staff photo by JERRY BAKER)
|
The Woodlands High School baseball team will have a tough test on its hands this week as they take on the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.
|
The Highlanders, who are ranked seventh in the state, will try to upset the top ranked Tigers of A&M Consolidated in a best-of-three Region II-5A regional quarterfinal playoff series.
"It will be a challenge," said TW head coach Ron Eastman of the series. "It will be a lot of fun to go in as the obvious underdog."
The Tigers, who boast a 30-1-1 record on the year, have won 19 straight games and are the best team in the nation according to USA Today.
"They are solid," said Eastman. "We've seen them play and they don't make too many mistakes. They have depth on the mound and in the field. They're an experienced group that seem to get clutch hitting when they need to."
The Highlanders, who had an 18-game win streak of their own this season, will not be intimidated by their opponent's lofty ranking.
"The group we have, they give their best," said Eastman. "We're definitely not going to be intimidated or back down to anybody. We're looking forward to it."
Eastman feels that his squad stacks up pretty well with the Tigers.
"I think we match up pretty well," he said. "They've got four good pitchers and I think we've got four that are pretty good. They've got 30 wins and we've got 27."
Consolidated boasts three pitchers that have combined for 21 victories this year as Justin Ficke is 9-0, Wade Michalsky is 7-0, and Bobby Bramhall is 5-0. The Tiger staff will have their hands full trying to shut out the explosive Highlander offense. As a team, The Woodlands is batting almost .390. Jordan Roberts leads the Highlanders at the plate as he led the Houston area with a .607 batting average in the regular season with 27 RBIs and 27 runs scored. Trent Elizondo had 42 RBIs to lead the Houston area as he batted .444 while Danny Amendola hit .465 with 31 RBIs.
And when A&M is batting, they'll have to face Brad Depoy in game one. Depoy has two no-hitters this season and has an ERA around 1.00. He won the first game of the Belton series on the road with a strong complete-game performance.
While the Tigers are a formidable foe, there may be some kinks in their armor as Klein demonstrated in their area round series last week. Consolidated had to rally in both games to defeat the Bearkats 8-5 and 5-3. The Woodlands, who swept their season series with Klein, was able to take care of Belton in the area round with a 4-2 win on the road and a 7-5 decision at home.
Despite Consolidated's struggles with Klein, Eastman knows his team will have to be at its best in order to move on past the Tigers.
"In the playoffs all you can ask for is a legitimate chance," he said. "If we play well and keep our mistakes to a minimum, we have a chance to hang with them."
The Highlanders will get their first crack at the Tigers on Thursday at 7 p.m. The second game will be Friday at 7 p.m. and if necessary a third game will be at 2 p.m. on Saturday. All of the games are being played at Tomball High School.
|
|
©The Courier 2003
|
|
|
