Covering All Bases

Baseball and softball at its finest are here in Southeast Texas.

First of all, it has been a tear jerker because of all the senior nights and some kids will be playing their last game or playing on their home field for the last time.

Also, it's all knotted up in local baseball.

As of Monday, Silsbee and Bridge City are tied at 7-3 for the division lead. WO-S and LC-M are at 6-4 while Hardin-Jefferson is at 6-5 with only one game left to play.

Bridge City and the Mustangs went at it head to head. It was as expected to be a duel to the finish and it was with the final score BC - 2, WO-S - 1 after eight. You cannot say enough about the two that have faced off for years, Anderson and Shugart. They have made their alma maters proud.

The LC-M Battling Bears had a tough road to hold facing elimination from playoff contention. Not only did they hand Bridge City a loss, but they turned once again to Roddy for an 8-1 win over Hardin-Jefferson. Roddy helped himself at the plate and teammate Brennon Moore hit another towering home run to seal the deal.

It all may come down to a flip of the coin, which always begs the question... Play for an outright championship? Throw the starter who would have pitched game one in bi-district just so you can say you won district? Or, are you going to rely on your ace in a one-game series?

In softball, it's pretty cut and dry.

Bridge City wins outright with an 11-1 record. Hardin-Jefferson at 10-2 takes second. Orangefield controls third after handing LC-M a tie breaking loss on their home field, 7-1.

The Orangefield girls' victory was truly a team effort, lead by Ancelot, Foster, Bradley and Kespelher .

The what if comes into play for 24-4A softball should a team lose a game that they shouldn't? Or if a team steps forward and plays the game of a lifetime, it may make some wonder why didn't they play like this all year?

The talent is there for any team to win on any given night. It comes down to match-ups for the athletes who have faced adversity before.

The Bridge City girls softball team has been ranked as high as # 2 in state in several polls. These young ladies have played together successfully since Little League, which begs the question, could this be the year ?

However any team or individual end the season, just remember, it's only a game.

Win or lose, your parents and your community could not be any more proud of you.

See you at the game.

The following is this week's baseball and softball playoff schedules:

Baseball

BC vs. Shepherd, three game at Jasper

Game 1 on Thursday, April 30

Game 2 on Friday, May 1 at 6:30 p.m.

Game 3 if necessary after Game 2

OF vs. Splendora, three games at Sheldon C.E. King

Game 1 on Thursday, April 30 at 6 p.m.

Game 2 on Saturday, May 2 at 2 p.m.

Game 2 if necessary at 4 p.m.

Softball

LC-m vs. Huffman, one game series at Port Arthur Memorial

Thursday, April 30

Kirbyvile vs. Van Vleck, three games at New Caney

Game 1 on Wednesday, April 29 at 6:30 p.m.

Game 2 on Friday, May 1 at 5 p.m.

Game 3 if necessary after Game 2

Photo - Bridge City Cardinal ace Chase Shugart fires a shot from the hill against the West Orange-Stark Mustangs. Shugart went the distance for BIg Red with 15 strikeouts and giving up just one hit. Nevertheless, the Mustangs dragged the Cardinals into extra innings before Bridge City eventually prevailed 2-1. RECORD PHOTO: Mark Dunn

Jeff Fults

FOR THE RECORD