Monday, March 6, 2017

Tournaments Headline Last Weeks Play

Strawn, ISD Baseball Field
The season is starting to get underway.  I will freely admit it is harder to locate baseball scores than football ones!  If you want to send me any information about your team, news, stats, scores, items of interest, or complaints please email me at: leman.saunders@gmail.com
I try to pass on scores on twitter if that interest you at all you can follow me @LemanSaunders

News & Notes:
Tournaments dotted the HS baseball landscape this past week and some 1A schools had some strong showings:

-Round-Top Carmine hosted their own tourney and advanced to the championship game, but were rained out and cancelled.

-Abbott advanced to the championship game in the Mexia tourney against Riesel, but that game was also cancelled due to weather Saturday.

-Ira finished 3-0 in the Hamlin tournament, finishing off Anson in the final game 13-10.

-Savoy won out in the Saint Jo tournament beating Tioga 10-1 in the final game.

-D’Hanis had a great showing in Crystal City Tournament going 3-0.

-Trent, who is playing an outlaw type schedule this season, was entered into the Hawley JV tournament and walked away 1-1-1, with the final game a 10-10 tie against host Hawley JV that ended due to time regulations.

It is more than worth noting that Allen Lambright is trying to keep tabs on all 1A/2A action over at txhighschoolbaseball.com they provide a newsletter and have district breakdowns with many teams schedules available to view.  Their NEW 1A Top 15 rankings are out! I suggest following them on twitter as well @2ATxHSBaseball and if they are missing scores or you schedule let them know!
Link to their rankings: 
http://txhighschoolbaseball.com/2a/1a-top-10-2a-top-25-march-6/

Full Count:

In this section I will try to pass on some feedback from coaches about the new UIL rules on pitch counts.  I will use direct quotes from coaches, but will leave it as anonymous unless given permission to use their name.  Coaches were asked to give their “Thoughts on new rules regarding pitching and pitch counts”

Coach 1:  “It’s a good idea to try and protect kid’s arms. I think it’s going to decrease the level of baseball being played because teams won’t be able to throw their stud every game. Especially in 1a, there will be teams with only 1 or 2 good pitchers and if those guys are unavailable then it could make for a long game for both teams.”

Some scores from around 1A:

2/28
Round Top-Carmine 7 North Zulch 6
Bryson 16 Saint Jo 2
Hermleigh 15 Westbrook 5
Abbott 6 Blooming Grove 0
Kernes 20 Fruitvale 0
D’Hanis 10 Crystal City 8
Springlake-Earth 1 Morton 1
Sulphur Bluff 6 Bllomburg 1
Slocum 13 Leverett’s Chapel 3
Merkel 17 Baird 7

3/2
Medina 7 Junction 6
Tulia 20 Springlake-Earth 0
Dimmit 15 Springlake-Earth 0
Union Hill 4 Ore City 1
Bryson 10 Saint Jo 3
Savoy 12 Bryson 3
Savoy 11 Saint Jo 0
Abbott 4 McGregor 3
Colorado City 5 Hermleigh 0
Rotan 6 Hamlin 2
Ira 12 Baird 3
Benbrook 7 Milford 0
Blooming Grove 9 Milford 1
Karnes City 17 Runge 4
Como-Pickton 15 Ector 0
Big Sandy 8 Sulphur Bluff 4
Mart 12 Fruitvale 0
Wells 6 Neches 3
Wells 7 Leverett’s Chapel 0
Newton 19 Burkeville 1
Midland Classical Acd. 16 O’Donnell 6
Gorman 9 Strawn 2

3/3
Kress 8 Muleshoe 6
Kress 6 Hale Center 3
Stamford 12 Rotan 2
Union Hill 4 Bloomburg 1
Brookeland 6 Kennard 5
Hermleigh 15 Baird 5
Round-Top Carmine 15 Somerville 14
Round-Top Carmine 14 Milano 4
Abbott 2 Axtell 1
Abbott 9 Rio Vista 2
Booker 12 Claude 2
Booker 12 Boys Ranch 2
Poolville 12 Northside 0
Tioga 14 Northside 0
Trinidad 4 Mount Calm 1
Trent 7 Seymour JV 5
Jim Ned JV 23 Trent 5
Ira 9 Hamlin 5
D’Hanis 7 Lytle 3
D’Hanis 8 Crystal City 3
Collinsville 9 Ector 2
Bishop Gorman 5 Sulphur Bluff 4
Holland 24 Fruitvale 2
Hardin 22 Chester 0
Onalaska 12 Chester 1
Olney 10 Cross Plains 4
Santo 5 Gorman 3

3 / 4
Saint Jo 9 Northside 5
Trent 10 Hawley JV 10
Poolville 18 Bryson 0
Hale Center 9 Springlake-Earth 6
Savoy 10 Tioga 1
Ira 13 Anson 10
Holland 15 Fruitvale 6
Bartlett 16 Fruitvale 0
Cumby 10 Ector 1
Arp 10 Sulphur Bluff 0
Colmesneil 4 Wells 3
Amarillo River 15 Booker 1
Slaton 5 Kress 2
Baird 6 Rotan 4
Cross Plains 3 Lipan 3
Comanche 16 Gorman 0

Famous Small Town, TX Baseball Players:
Baseball Hall of Fame Brothers “Rube” and Bill Foster were both born in Calvert, TX.  Both were star players in the era of segregated baseball, Rube Foster first began pitching for the Fort Worth Yellow Jackets in 1897, he helped create the Negro National League in 1920, he was a star pitcher and it is rumored that John McGraw, great manager of the New York Giants, sought out Foster for advice…and it is rumored Rube taught Christy Mathewson his famous “fade-away” pitch (now called a screwball).  Bill was also a star pitcher in the 1920s and 30s, he later became a baseball coach at Alcorn State College.  Rube was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1981 and Bill in 1996. 
Calvert, with a HS enrollment of 54 students, does not play HS baseball, but the Trojans have had great success in 6-man football and 1A basketball.



Did You Know:
The Little League World Series began crowning a champion in 1947 and a team from Texas has only won the championship twice…both times it was a team from Houston, in 1950 and 1966.

1966 Houston Little League team
Out of Left Field:
Back in December I decided to start reading Baseball books on an epic level once again thanks mainly to the podcast “Baseball By the Book” by Justin McGuire I stumbled upon one day.  I recommend this podcast to everyone who enjoys baseball.  My favorite episodes are the interviews with “Ty Cobb: A Terrible Beauty” author Charles Leerhsen, which will show you how a real historian doing proper research can rewrite history; “Ahead of the Curve” author Brian Kenny as he discusses the new stats and the sabermetrics era in baseball going on now.  I have ordered these books because of this podcast and can’t wait to dive into them! You can follow them on twitter @BaseballBookPod
Link to them in itunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/baseball-by-the-book/id1183076342?mt=2

Tuesday, February 28, 2017

As Basketball Ends, Baseball Begins!

Hermleigh's Baseball Field 
(photo courtesy of Carter Construction Company)

Baseball is officially underway across the state, however their remains a large number of 1A size schools that have postponed their baseball season a few weeks due to Basketball playoffs, and even still many won’t start their seasons until the first week of March.

I have sent out questionnaires to almost all 1A schools across the state and have received a few back already.  It is becoming apparent that the question regarding the new UIL rules on pitch counts is the most important.  The new rule limits use of the pitchers and multiple quality pitchers are hard to come by in schools with less than 105 kids in the whole HS.  Maybe the small school coaches should petition the UIL asking for special consideration or an amendment to the current rule…more thought needs to be done on this issue for sure…

Point of Interest:
Announced in the fall of 2016…Ira’s baseball program was one of only 10 organizations in Texas and Louisiana, and only 1A school, to receive a donation from the Texas Rangers organization to use toward their baseball program.  They were awarded $3000!

Any points of Interest, stats, scores or anything thing else...email me at: Leman.saunders@gmail.com

Some scores from the season thus far:
2/20
Rotan 5 Hamlin 1
Kress 13 Springlake-Earth 0
Trinity Christian 19 Lipan 6

2/21
Hico 14 Milford 1
Refugio 23 Bruni 0

2/23
Hamlin 13 Rotan 5
Howe JV 5 Tioga 4
Onalaska 12 Spurger 1
Ozen 11 Spurger 3
Charlotte 4 Medina 1
Medina 17 La Pyor 5

2/24
Hermleigh 16 O’Donnell 3
Coahoma 10 O’Donnell 1
Rotan 10 Haskell 7
WF Hirschi 16 Rotan 4
Coleman 10 Baird 4
Tioga 6 Poolville 5
Cumby 4 Savoy 2
Hubbard 10 Covington 1
Port Arthur 9 Burkeville 5
Port Arthur Memorial 10 Spurger 1
Kountze 16 Spurger 3
Natalia 23 Runge 4

2/25
Kress 11 Hale Center 0
Hale Center 14 Kress 4
Springlake-Earth 22 Seagraves 10
Lindsey 11 Savoy 5
Sam Rayburn 6 Savoy 4
Lipan 13 Santo 12
Avalon 11 Dallas Roosevelt 1
Avalon 17 Dallas Roosevelt 6
Big Sandy 13 Fruitvale 2
Big Sandy 13 Fruitvale 2
Brookeland 12 Kennard 2
Crane 19 Menard 6

2/27
West Rusk 5 Union Hill 1
Riesel 12 Bartlett 2
Bruni 17 La Villa 1*
Dodd City 20 Ector 4

Famous Small Town, TX Baseball Players:

While Hubbard is technically a 2A baseball program (112 enrollment), they have the most famous baseball alum who was born, and attended school in a small Texas town.  I’m talking about Baseball Hall of Famer Tris Speaker!  There are many Ex-MLBers that were born in small towns across Texas, but very few actually lived there, let alone went to school there, for an extended period of time.  Speaker is the exception! Known as “Spoke” to his teammates and friends, he played from 1907-28 mostly for the Red Sox and Indians.  He retired with 3,514 hits, 1,882 runs scored, 1,531 RBIs and a .345 BA.  He was a major part in 3 World Championships (1912, 1915 Boston Red Sox and 1920 Clevelnad Indians).  He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937 (the 2nd class elected) and was part of the very first Induction Ceremony in 1939.

Did You Know:
It is against the rules to catch a ball in your cap, and to take off your glove and throw it at a live ball in order to try to stop or alter its path

Sunday, February 12, 2017

Welcome to 1A Baseball!

Borden County's Baseball Field (photo courtesy of Huseman Engineering)

2017 ushers in a new era for High School Baseball in the state of Texas.  This season the UIL will be having separate playoff brackets for 2A and 1A schools.  There has been a little confusion as to exactly what schools are 1A, how many make the playoffs from each district, how will the playoff brackets be designed...and probably about a dozen other questions.

Here are a few points that might help clear up some of the confusion (sent to me from a 1A coach):
-Four 2A teams from each district will advance to the 2A bracket.
-Two 1A teams from each district will advance to the 1A bracket.
-Each District Executive Committee will determine the guidelines for playoff teams in 1A and 2A.
-The 2A district chair is responsible for certifying BOTH 1A and 2A prior to the district certification deadline
-If there is no 1A team in the district the opposing team gets a bye

I will be sending out questionnaires to coaches at all the schools listed as a 1A school the UIL has placed in a 2A district this season.  I will try to provide some coverage to these, the smallest schools playing baseball in Texas.  I will try to provide scores, stats, stories, and possibly a coaches' poll.  The more coaches help out the better coverage there will be.  You can email me at leman.saunders@gmail.com  You can also follow me on twitter @LemanSaunders to get updates daily.

Some of you may know that I have covered 6-man football for Dave Campbell's Magazine since 2010, I have always been a huge baseball fans so it makes sense for me to try to cover 1A baseball as well.  Hopefully this little blog will help accomplish that in some way.

Here are the schools that are listed in UIL 2A baseball districts who's enrollment numbers are low enough to be placed in the 1A playoffs (this is pretty accurate and please if I missed a school or incorrectly placed a school in 1A please let me know)

Here are a few notable numbers:
75 schools listed in a UIL 2A district are 1A (not counting San Isidro & San Perlita)
1 district has 0 1A teams (District 5)
10 districts have 1 1A team
10 districts have 2 1A teams
11 districts have 3 or more 1A teams
District 6 has the most 1A teams listed with 8 1As and 1 2A
52 teams will make the playoffs (as long as no teams fold or cancel their seasons that are in a 1 or 2 team district)
29 teams have already clinched a playoff berth

1A Baseball Teams:  104.9 as the enrollment cut off number
Region 1 (Districts 1-8):
District 1:  Booker, Follett, Shamrock
District 2:  Kress, Nazareth, Valley
District 3:  Springlake-Earth
District 4:  New Home, O’Donnell
District 6:  Borden County, Hermleigh, Ira, Roby, Rotan, *Trent, Westbrook, *Loraine
*Trent is placed in this district but will be playing as a JV team
*Loraine is placed in this district but not fielding a team this season
District 7:  Cross Plains, Gorman, May
District 8:  Baird, Eula, Knox City

Region 2 (Districts 9-16):
District 9:  Northside
District 10:  Saint Jo, Tioga
District 11:  Ector, Savoy
District 12:  Dodd City, Fannindel, Roxton
District 13:  Bryson, Gordon, Graford, Lipan, Strawn
District 14:  Kopperl
District 15:  Abbott, Avalon, Blum, Covington, Milford
District 16:  Coolidge, Mount Calm

Region 3 (Districts 17-24):
District 17:  Bloomburg
District 18:  Miller Grove, Fruitvale, Saltillo, Yantis, Sulfur Bluff
District 19:  Union Hill
District 20:  Trinidad
District 21:  Slocum
District 22:  Apple Springs, Kennard, Wells
District 23:  Martinsville
District 24:  Burkeville, Chester

Region 4 (Districts 25-32)
District 25:  High Island, Spurger
District 26:  Dime Box, Round Top-Carmine
District 27:  Bartlett, Buckholts
District 28:  Fayetteville, Moulton
District 29:  Menard
District 30:  D’Hanis, Knippa, Medina, Utopia
District 31:  Nordheim, Runge
District 32:  Bruni
(San Isidro & San Perlita have 1A numbers but elected to play up a classification in another and thus must for all sports, so they would be in the 2A playoff hunt in baseball)