Texas High begins its annual trek into the Class 5A baseball playoffs today.
The Tigers (17-11) face Whitehouse (20-9-1) in the opener of a best-of-three series at 2 p.m. at Tiger Field. The series is scheduled to resume at Wildcat Field on the campus of Whitehouse Friday, with Game 2 and 3, if needed.
"We've been good this season, and we're hoping we can hit that hot button and get things rolling in the playoffs," Texas High head coach John McClure said. "We're in games mentally, we're playing good defense and pitching well. We just haven't been finding those timely base hits over the past few games.
"Whitehouse swings the bat very well; they're very aggressive at the plate. They have three left-handed pitchers; none of them are necessarily dominant guys. Left-handlers always present a bit of a problem in your running game, and things of that nature. Anytime you win 20 games (as a team), you're doing a lot of things right."
Depending on whom Texas High starts on the mound, the defense will feature Jackson Halter behind the plate, Walker Davis at first base, Jakob Hearne at second, Chris Sutton at shortstop and either Rian Cellers or Michael Sikorski at third.
The Tiger outfield will have Luke Smith in left, Chris Lyles in center and Conner Allred in right. Ben DePriest has been the designated hitter for THS.
Whitehouse lost its season finale to Pine Tree and went 3-3 over its final six games. Following an 8-game win streak, the Tigers dropped their last four to close out the season to finish second in District 15-5A.
"We've talked about this is our third season-the regular season, district and now postseason," McClure said. "Everyone is 0-0, no one has struck out, no one has made and error and everybody started with a clean slate. I've seen fourth place teams get going and make it all the way to the state tournament.
"It's about who plays the best on that weekend, and we're not dwelling on the past. The kids are resilient, and they're looking to bounce back."
The winner advances to the area round next week to face either Cleburne or Kaufman. Game 1 will be broadcast delayed and aired at 7 p.m. on KTXK 91.5 FM.