The Houston baseball team’s success in the postseason may hinge on three fundamental facets of the game.
Throw strikes.
Field the ball.
Make contact – especially with runners on base.
“If we do those three things well, we should be in it,” HHS coach Brent Hall said.
Seeded fourth in the six-team field of Class 3 District 10, the Tigers (14-7) have shown their potential during the 2015 season. They own victories against the top two seeds in the district – Mountain Grove and Licking – and will finish over .500 for the first time since 2010. But they’ve also struggled at times with a lopsided 16-5 loss to No. 3 Ava and barely edging first-round opponent and fifth-seeded Liberty by a single run.
“We’re capable of beating anybody and any team in our district is capable of being in the game with us,” Hall said. “But I like our chances. We’ve got as good a chance as anybody in the district.”
HHS begins postseason play at 6:30 p.m Friday against Liberty in the finale of two first-round games at Mountain Grove High School. Ava and No. 6 Willow Springs start the tournament at 4 p.m.
Mountain Grove and Licking both received first-round byes as the Nos. 1 and 2 seeds. The Panthers will play the winner of the Houston-Liberty game at 4 p.m. Monday. Licking will face the Ava-Willow Springs winner at 6:30 p.m. that day.
The championship is 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Halls plans to send junior Ethan Kelley to the mound to begin the postseason. The right-hander is 4-2 with a 4.03 ERA in six starts. He has struck out 30 and walked 17 in 33 innings.
Kelley got the opening-game nod over Stetson Welch, who leads the Tigers with a 3.68 ERA.
“We’re trying to set ourselves up to win the district,” Hall said of his rotation. “Hopefully it works. Sometimes it backfires. But I think we need to set ourselves up to win the thing versus just trying to win one game.”
Whoever is on the mound – Kelley, Stetson Welch and Nathan Poynter all have four victories apiece – Hall stressed the importance of throwing strikes. HHS pitchers have issued 64 walks in 136 combined innings.
Hall said its also important the Tigers’ defense plays well. Houston has committed 36 errors leading to 40 unearned runs this season.
Offensively, Hall said his team must put the ball in play. HHS batters struck out 134 times in 697 regular-season plate appearances.
The Tigers only fanned four times in their 11-10 victory April 27 against Liberty, but Hall expects the Eagles will send their ace to the mound this time around.
“Usually when we get beat, we haven’t fielded the ball very well or struck out a lot,” Hall said.
Friday’s games
(3) Ava vs. (6) Willow Springs, 4 p.m.
(4) Houston vs. (5) Liberty, 6:30 p.m.
Monday’s games
(1) Mountain Grove vs. Houston-Liberty winner, 4 p.m.
(2) Licking vs. Ava-Willow Springs winner, 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday’s game
Championship, 4:30 p.m.