Texas High will be home to start the 5A baseball playoffs today against Whitehouse.
The Tigers (19-5) won the outright District 15-5A title, and the Wildcats (19-9) finished third in District 16.
"The one word I keep hearing about Whitehouse is talented," Texas High coach John McClure said. "They come out of a tough district. They kind of remind me of us, a little bit, from last year because they have just three seniors and seven or eight underclassmen playing. You can look at experience versus inexperience, but sometimes talent can overshadow that a bit. They can run, they can put pressure on you and will take chances on the bases. They're a well-rounded team, play hard and potentially explosive. They're not your typical four seed."
The Tigers had a small senior class in 2015 but this spring feature 11 seniors, including seven in the starting lineup.
Left-hander Kip Williams, who went unbeaten through district play, will take the mound today. Trevor Danley will catch, and the infield will feature Kyrian Williams at first base, J. T. Morgan at second, Colby Adkins at shortstop and Colton Russell at third. Adkins is a junior and the only non-senior in the infield.
Junior Kyle Choate will start in left field with seniors Nick Kelly in center field and Grant McNeill in right. Cade Thompson is the designated hitter.
"Good teams make their own breaks, and that's really a true statement with these guys," the Tigers coach said. "The camaraderie that they have is very good; they get along great and they don't care who gets the credit-they want to win. We're not the type of team that's going to get 15 hits a game, but we have that knack for making a defensive play when we need to, coming up with the big hit when we need it, and making a great pitch when we need to."
The team will be without Zack Phillips, who was lost for the season with an arm injury near the midway point of district play. Morgan has filled the second starting pitcher position, and McClure said, should the series go to a third game, he has a few options for the starting pitcher for the rubber game.
"The very unselfish characteristic to our team has helped us win a lot," McClure said. "They don't care who is up with runners in scoring position or who is on the mound when we need to get out of a situation; they play for each other. We did score quite a bit the last few games, but most of our district games have been close ball games. I look for this weekend's to be close ball games, and we'll need good pitching and defense, that's what we've hung our hats on, and getting the timely hits."
The winner will advance to the area round next week to play either Ennis or Dallas Seagoville.
The series will be broadcast on KTXK 91.5 FM.