HS Game Time Blog

The baseball Regional Finals is here and Houston is well represented. West Side and Bellaire are the only teams remaining in the region 3 playoffs, and also come from the same district. District 20-5A had three teams remaining in the quarter finals; West Side faced former state champ Cy Fair, and Bellaire took on their heated rival Lamar.
I don't think anyone could pick a better finals match up then these two teams; from the same district, both with great playoff stories, and both with very deep roots and a strong fan base.
The parents and fans for these two teams have shown to be some of the classier of the bunch, and in my playoff travels I have seen some horrible showings by fans. Anyone who is going to get against the fence and yell horrible things at a COACH is a classless individual.
Both of these teams have proved all year that they are good teams with good coaching and discipline.

West Side's pitching has been the biggest story of the playoffs, especially Taylor Wall, who has allowed the fewest hits out of every pitcher.
In game one of the Cy Fair series, Wall threw a one hitter, and that one hit coming off a misjudged ball by an outfielder. West Side went on to win with a walk-off homer by FRESHMAN Daniel Mengden. West Side moved past Cy Fair to face Baytown Sterling who has been known for their pitching as well. What was believed to be a pitching duel, turned into a one man pitching show with West Side's 7-0 win. Taylor Wall showed that he is a "WALL" during his performance against Sterling, throwing a no-hitter threw seven innings, striking out 13. He did his share at the plate as well knocking in two RBIs.

Bellaire has had one of the best and worse playoff stories so far finding themselves in the finals.
Lets start with the coin tosses, Bellaire has not won a coin toss all playoffs. They have had to play their entire playoffs on the road, playing on the days and the fields selected by their opponents. This is why Manvel was chosen as a "Neutral Site" that just happens to be six miles from Alvin High School. This is why Bellaire has had to play double-header games on Saturdays.
Bellaire has not had an easy series since they faced Nimitz in round one. The Cardinals have had to claw their way back, getting come from behind victories as every series since has come down to three games.
Bellaire recently escaped Alvin's sting, losing the first game 3-1, but rallying to take the next two games 7-6 and 5-3, both coming from behind to win.
Bellaire's bats were a major factor throughout the regular season, and most of that has transitioned to playoffs. Bellaire has had many scares during the playoffs, but have always battle their way out of it. They have also blown away some teams, for example in game one against Lamar they bomb Neil Denison 11-1.
Denison had pitched well all year for Lamar, recording several strikeouts and winning most of his outings.
Bellaire has some real speed on the base path, especially with Higgins, Washington and Minifee. The real problem for Bellaire has been their defense, committing errors in crucial moments, allowing runs to score. Against Alvin they allowed six runs and only

Bellaire hasn't had the best luck against West Side this year, losing in both district games; Their first appearance March 28th. 4-2, the second appearance April 15th West Side won 1-0.

This series will be a really interesting one since these two teams are so different in their style of play.
Can Taylor Wall pull off another No-Hitter?
Can Bellaire get their bats on fire?
Will Bellaire win a coin flip??
Who will win??

Let me know what you think, and tell me about anything else that matters to you.
Comment or E-mail at HSGameTime@khou.com

By: Kyle Schantz
HSGameTime Coordinator

Posted by TJ Aulds at 5:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)