PARIS, Texas -- Liberty-Eylau will face its toughest competition to date when the Leopards take on Celina in the regional semifinals.
L-E (21-11-1) and the Bobcats (28-3-1) square off in a Region II-4A semifinal best-of-3 series at Paris Chisum's Mustang Field. Game 1 is set for 7 p.m., and the second game will be at 7 Friday. Should a third game be needed, it is scheduled for 3 Saturday.
Celina, ranked No. 5 in Class 4A, has garnered 24 consecutive wins dating back to March 12 and its last loss was March 4 -- the first week of the regular season.
Liberty-Eylau has won five in a row in the postseason and were a regional finalist last spring.
"Some of (us being able to pull out wins in the close playoff games) comes back to our playoff experience, making the deep run to the regional finals last season," Leopard coach Zach Fowler said. "Our kids just have a little more playoff experience than most of these teams, and it's shown a little bit this year. We believe we can do it, and we believe we're supposed to be there. At the end of the day, that counts for something."
WT Jones and Gage Bellatti have been the 1-2 starters for the Leopards in the playoffs, and Cal Jones pitched the only Game 3 L-E has played in the postseason.
With Bellatti on the hill, Cal Jones plays shortstop and WT is at second. Britain Pipes plays third, Xander Worthey is at first, and Dylan Garton is behind the plate. The outfield features Krayson Battle in left, Braylon Blair in center and Ron Garza in right.
Worthey and Garza have also pitched in relief.
"We've talked about these playoff games, taking it one inning at a time and one pitch at a time," Fowler said. "It's a short series, and when you break it down into the smaller parts and just win that pitch, win that inning, you give yourself a chance."
The series will be broadcast on The Fan 107.9 FM. The series winner advances to next week's regional championship round against either Spring Hill or Melissa.