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May 12, 2010

Roberts and Brown give 11th-ranked Bulldogs a perfect 1-2 punch heading into area-round clash with Hardin tonight in Humble

By Cody Stark Assistant Sports Editor The Huntsville Item Wed May 12, 2010, 11:17 PM CDT

NEW WAVERLY — NEW WAVERLY — The taste is still bitter for the Bulldogs.

The New Waverly baseball squad is still haunted from last year’s surprising exit in the regional semifinals against White Oak. The Dogs took game one of the best-of-three series and had a 6-1 lead in the second contest heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.

Things went terribly wrong from there and New Waverly was left wondering what happened as White Oak rallied to win two in a row and steal the series.

It was a feeling that carried over into this season, and so far, it has proven to be plenty of fuel as the Bulldogs get ready to make another long playoff run when 11th-ranked New Waverly opens a best-of-three area-round series tonight against Hardin at Summer Creek High School in Humble at 7:30 p.m.

“We have learned to never give up,” senior Clint Brown said Wednesday afternoon. “Last year we were up 6-1 with a chance to advance to the regional finals and we got in too much of a relaxed mode. We got ahead of ourselves and still had three innings to play. From the first pitch to the last pitch we are giving it 100 percent and not giving teams a chance to up-end us.”

One of the reasons the Bulldogs (26-3) have put together a remarkable season in 2010 has been the elite pitching duo of Brown and junior Matt Roberts.

The pair have combined to go 19-0. With two aces in the rotation and a solid third starter in Cole Bohannon, this New Waverly bunch has all the makings of a team that could dominate the Class 2A playoffs and earn a berth to the state tournament in Austin in June.

“We have a much stronger pitching staff than we did last year,” Roberts said. “Last year we had the pitching, but we have all gotten better and stronger. We also have a solid defense to back us up, so if you do make a bad pitch, then you don’t have to worry as much.

“We know what it takes to win in the playoffs after last season, so we all have a lot of confidence.”

Roberts had a breakout sophomore year last season, going 10-1, including tossing a one-hitter in a 2-0 victory over White Oak in the opening game of the regional semifinals.

The hard-throwing right-hander has been even better this season. Roberts is 11-0 with a 1.02 earned run average in 55 innings. He has also struck out 105 hitters while only giving up 11 walks.

“Matt makes everything look so smooth and easy that you don’t realize how dominating he really is,” Dogs head coach Tommy Bohannon said. “He is so smooth that all of the sudden you look up and see all the zeroes on the scoreboard and a lot of guys walking back to the dugout.

“He has pin-point control and has picture-perfect mechanics.”

Brown has saved his best stuff for his final shot at helping New Waverly reach its goal of playing for a state championship.

The right-hander has a deadly fastball and has rolled to an 8-0 mark. He has recorded 89 strikeouts in 47 1/3 innings and his ERA is 2.20.

“Clint has a live arm and at times he can be very dominating because he can reach a high velocity,” Bohannon added. “When he gets his breaking ball behind his fastball, he can really take control of a game. He makes it real difficult for batters to make contact and he doesn’t allow a lot of hits.

“Clint and Matt have two different styles, but as far as the outcome, both of them are real good. We are happy they both play for the New Waverly Bulldogs.”

Class 2A State Baseball Playoffs

Today: New Waverly vs. Hardin in game one of a best-of-three area-round series, 7:30 p.m. at Summer Creek High School, Humble

Record: Bulldogs are 26-3

Friday: New Waverly vs. Hardin in game two at 5 p.m., with a third game, if necessary later on Friday night at Summer Creek High School, Humble

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Bulldog Sports

All-State Bulldogs
After advancing all the way to the regional semifinals as relative unknowns with little playoff experience in 2009, the Bulldogs knew they would have a lot more attention in 2010.
Ranked among the top five in the state for most the season, New Waverly did not disappoint.

June 22, 2010
Dynamic Duo
NEW WAVERLY — The taste is still bitter for the Bulldogs.
The New Waverly baseball squad is still haunted from last year’s surprising exit in the regional semifinals against White Oak. The Dogs took game one of the best-of-three series and had a 6-1 lead in the second contest heading into the bottom of the fourth inning.
Things went terribly wrong from there and New Waverly was left wondering what happened as White Oak rallied to win two in a row and steal the series.

May 12, 2010 1 Story
Complete package
NEW WAVERLY — New Waverly baseball coach Tommy Bohannon was hoping he could talk Hardin, the Bulldogs’ area-round playoff opponent, into moving up next week’s series to accommodate the state track and field meet.

May 7, 2010
New Waverly boys still within range of advancing to state
After finishing their first round on the Oak Hurst Course at Peach Tree Golf Club in Bullard, things looked bleak for the New Waverly boys as they turned in a team score of 372.

April 19, 2010
Bulldogs are back again in 2010
They’ve been here before and know Austin all too well.Two years ago, the New Waverly Bulldogs made their first trip to the state tournament, but it ended rather quickly in a disappointing blowout loss to Tuscola Jim Ned.
Then last March, the Bulldogs got past Shallowater and advanced to the state championship game only to fall to defending state champion Ponder 51-39.
This time around, the Bulldogs are determined to take another step forward and come back with a state championship. They’re back again in 2010, and they say they’re going to finish the job this time.

March 11, 2010
Bulldogs pass first test
NEW CANEY — Though it had been more than a week since the New Waverly boys played a meaningful game, the Dogs didn’t show an ounce of rust Thursday night.
With a strong defensive effort, the top-ranked Bulldogs cruised past East Chambers 78-36 and into the Region III quarterfinals where they’ll face either fourth-ranked Kountze or Buffalo early next week.

February 25, 2010
Lady Dogs live to play another day Leading by 16 points at the beginning of the fourth quarter, it appeared as if the Lady Dogs would coast to an easy playoff victory.

The only problem was that Kirbyville never stopped playing. The feisty Ladycats made a game out of it.

Barely, the Lady Dogs held on, escaping with a 52-51 victory in Angelina College’s Shands Gym to advance to the area round of the Class 2A playoffs.
February 15, 2010 2 Photos
Lady Bulldogs start playoffs Monday night in Lufkin
February 13, 2010
Dogs clinch outright district title NEW WAVERLY — If the Bulldogs haven’t already made space in the trophy case, they can do so now.
February 12, 2010
Lady Hornets set playoff date The Lady Hornets might have lost out on an outright district title Tuesday night at Willis, but the Lady Hornets got a big win Wednesday.
February 11, 2010
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Roberts and Brown give 11th-ranked Bulldogs a perfect 1-2 punch heading into area-round clash with Hardin tonight in Humble

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