Friday, May. 16, 2008

Jaguars Hang Tough, Meet Keller

FMHS Baseball

By John English

Contributing Writer

After falling to L.D. Bell in Game 1 of the area round of the playoffs last Thursday, the Flower Mound baseball rebounded with good pitching and timely hitting to take the next two games and move on to the regional quarterfinals.

Flower Mound is in the middle of a three-game series against Keller, and coach Steve Stinson said the Jags would have their work cut out for them.

"They have a great pitcher [Kaleb Merck] that is going to be a draft pick," Stinson said. "He is overpowering. They have a lot of tradition. They are going to be the best team we’ve faced all year."

Flower Mound plays at 7:30 tonight at home against Keller.

Stinson said his team did a good job of hanging in there against L.D. Bell, and said he had some very strong pitching performances throughout the series.

"I felt like Game 2 was a very important game," Stinson said. "We threw Brandon Parrent. I felt like we had a chance, and he threw exceptionally well. We were a little bit more patient at the plate. That helped as far as scoring a few runs … and we just played better."

The Jaguars defeated Bell 8-2 in Game 2, but lost the first one 10-4.

"In the first game, we never got the big hits when we needed," Stinson said. "Their pitcher made all the pitches, and we didn’t pitch that well and didn’t play good defense."

Stinson said that obviously, he was happy the series against Bell was a three-game format.

"Most teams want to do a three-game series for the simple reason that you always have a chance to lose one game because the other team has a great night or whatever," Stinson said. "If you make it a three-game series, the best team generally wins."

Flower Mound has won its first two playoff series, each going to a Game 3, and Stinson said he is not sure if the Jaguars are just a tough team to beat or what.

"We’ve been able to put a few wins together against quality opponents," Stinson said. "We were winning one and then losing one for a long time, but near the end of district and for a lot of reasons, things turned around, and at the end of district and in the first two rounds of the playoffs, we’ve played well."

Stinson said he was particularly pleased with the pitching of Chris Asing, and Parrent, as well as Chris Smith, who pitched in all three games.

"You’re always looking for somebody to step up and get the job done," Stinson said. "It doesn’t have to be the same person, and you sort of hope that it is not the same person to where the team relies on him and him only. It is good to be getting contributions from so many players."