Video: Diving grab starts triple play
See pitcher John Thibeault start a triple play with his diving snag.Two pressure-packed wins stand between the 24 remaining baseball playoff survivors and a UIL state title.
Champions in six classifications will be crowned by Saturday evening in the final UIL event of the 2016-17 school year.
No longer do the playoff survivors have the option of best-of-3 series to determine advancement in the playoff bracket, as was the case in five previous playoff rounds. The state tournament, which begins on Wednesday in the Greater Austin area, is single elimination. Two victories are required for a state title. One loss ends title dreams.
Teams from Abilene Wylie (Abilene) in Class 4A and Grapevine in Class 5A have a chance to win state baseball titles in successive seasons.
All of the classifications with the exception of 4A will be contested at Dell Diamond in Round Rock. Class 4A games will be played at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin.
Deer Park takes on Carroll in Friday's 6A semifinal.
Photo by Maria Lysaker
Here is a preview of the state tournament:
Class 2A Semifinals
Big Sandy (Dallardsville) (33-2) vs. Groveton (31-3), 9 a.m. Wednesday.
Big Sandy: Coach Jacob Hooker; First state tourney appearance; Senior Austin Hendrix is batting .511 and owns a 9-1 pitching record.
Groveton: Coach Richard Steubing; First state tourney appearance; Senior Glenn Thorton is 12-1 on the mound while batting .489.
Muenster (31-2) vs. Albany (23-2-2), noon Wednesday.
Muenster: Coach Josh Wheeler; First state tourney appearance; Sophomore Parker McGrew is 11-0 on the mound and batting .407.
Albany: Coach David Fairchild; First state tourney appearance; Junior Brian Hamilton has a 13-0 pitching record and is batting .344.
Championship game: 9 a.m. Thursday.
Class 3A semifinals
Central Heights (Nacogdoches) (35-2-1) vs. Whitesboro (28-8), 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Central Heights: Coach Travis Jackson; Third state tourney appearance; Junior Grayson Rodriguez is 13-1 on the mound with a batting average of .512.
Whitesboro: Coach Curt Cole; First state tourney appearance; Senior Cayden Cobb owns a 13-1 pitching record and a .402 batting average.
Gateway College Preparatory (Georgetown) (23-2-1) vs. Wall (30-3-1), 7 p.m. Wednesday.
Gateway: Coach Ryan Kjos; First state tourney appearance; Senior Steven Vejil is 8-1 with a .357 batting average.
Wall: Coach Jason Schniers; First state tourney appearance; Sophomore Ryan Gully is 11-0 with a .406 batting average.
Championship game: noon Thursday.
Class 4A semifinals
(All games at UFCU Disch-Falk Field in Austin)
Robinson (30-2) vs. Sinton (30-5-2), 1 p.m. Wednesday.
Robinson: Coach Bryan Kent; Sixth state tourney appearance and second in succession; Dru Dziedzic, a senior, is 11-0 and junior Mason Cooper is batting .450.
Sinton: Coach Adrian Alaniz; Ninth state tourney appearance; Junior Mason Hopkins is 11-0 on the mound and senior Jordan Martinez is batting .462.
Wylie (Abilene) (33-1) vs. Pleasant Grove (Texarkana) (35-3), 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Wylie: Coach Clay Martin; Eighth state tourney appearance and third in a row; Junior Conner Carlton is 11-0 with a .432 batting average.
Pleasant Grove: Coach Riley Fincher; Ninth state tourney appearance and second in a row; Senior Caleb Bolden is 14-1 with a .569 batting average.
Championship game: 6:30 p.m. Thursday.
Class 1A semifinals
Abbott (27-3-1) vs. Union Hill (Gilmer) (9-13), 9 a.m. Friday.
Abbott: Coach Kyle Crawford; Second state tourney appearance; Junior Matthew Urbanovsky is 7-1 on the mound and sports a .444 batting average.
Union Hill: Coach Ben Smith; Second state tourney appearance; Freshman Trevor Tidball is batting .350.
Borden County (Gail) (12-4) vs. Fayetteville (13-12), noon Friday.
Borden County: Coach Bubba Edwards; First state tourney appearance; Senior Hunter Jones is 7-2 with a .533 batting average.
Fayetteville: Coach Clint Jaeger; Sixth state tournament appearance; Junior Damon Gerik is batting .391 and owns a 5-2 pitching record.
Championship game: 9 a.m. Saturday.
Class 5A semifinals
Wakeland (Frisco) (38-4-1) vs. Port Neches-Groves (Port Neches) (32-8-2), 4 p.m. Thursday.
Wakeland: Coach Barry Rose; Second state tourney appearance; Senior Cooper Chandler is 11-1 with a .300 batting average.
Port Neches-Groves: Coach Scott Carter; Third state tourney appearance; Junior Josh Hranicky is 11-2 on the mound and is batting .333.
Moody (Corpus Christi) (30-2-3) vs. Grapevine (32-12), 7 p.m. Thursday.
Moody: Coach Joe Curiel; 13th state tourney appearance; Senior Marcus Cantu is 9-1 as pitcher and is batting .337.
Grapevine: Coach Steven Hutcherson; Second playoff appearance, second in succession; Seniors Boone Montgomery and Connor Neuman each have seven pitching victories.
Championship game: Noon Saturday.
Class 6A semifinals
Deer Park (33-8-1) vs. Carroll (Southlake) (32-10-1), 4 p.m. Friday.
Deer Park: Coach Chris Rupp; Fourth playoff appearance and first since 1990; Senior Clay Aguilar is batting .410 and has an 8-1 pitching record.
Carroll: Coach Larry Vucan; Seventh state tournament appearance; Senior Kole Ramage and sophomore Cutter Sippel each have garnered 10 pitching wins.
Round Rock (31-7) vs. Reagan (San Antonio) 30-8, 7 p.m. Friday.
Round Rock: Coach John Carter; Third state tournament appearance; Seniors Luke Malone and Grant Miller each have 10 pitching wins.
Reagan: Coach Chans Chapman; Second state tournament appearance; Junior Cal Carver's pitching record is 13-2.
Championship game: 4 p.m. Saturday.
