The Houston baseball team’s district is the toughest in the state.
The Tigers received their postseason assignment last week in Class 3 District 10. HHS is seeded fifth behind four state-ranked teams, including the defending state champion and this year’s No. 1 ranked team.
Houston’s postseason begins at 10 a.m. Saturday when they face fourth-seeded Strafford at Ava High School. The other first-round games include Ava vs. Willow Springs at noon and Mountain Grove faces Liberty at 2 p.m. The semifinals are 4 and 6 p.m. Monday. The championship game is 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Top-seeded Springfield Catholic is the No. 1 team in the state. Also ranked in the latest state poll are second seeded Ava (8), third seeded Mountain Grove (5) and Strafford (10).
Houston is 1-5 this season against state-ranked opponents. After losing to Cuba, Thayer, Hartville and twice to Mountain Grove, the Tigers beat Ava in eight innings last week. The Tigers were 0-6 in games decided by two runs or less before beating the Bears.
Saturday’s first round
(4) Strafford vs. (5) Houston, 10 a.m.
(2) Ava. vs. (7) Willow, noon
(3) Mountain Grove vs. (6) Liberty, 2 p.m.
Monday’s semifinals
(1) Springfield Catholic vs. Strafford-HHS winner, 4 p.m.
Ava-Willow winner vs. Mtn. Grove-Liberty winner, 6 p.m.
Tuesday’s game
Championship, 6 p.m.
Get live updates from the game on our Twitter page.