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May 31, 2009

Making good progress

With plenty of young, talented players in fold, Bulldogs have bright future ahead of them

By Gene Schallenberg

When New Waverly entered the playoffs a little over a year ago, it was new and uncharted territory for the Bulldogs. It was the first time in a few years that New Waverly had been to the postseason.

The Bulldogs, equipped with a large number of freshmen and sophomores, went up against the defending state champions and lost to Rogers in three games in the bi-district round.

Although New Waverly didn’t last very long, the Bulldogs got plenty of playoff experience along with the stinging feeling of an early exit.

Another year older and more seasoned, the Dogs were determined to get back to the playoffs and have a much better outcome this spring.

They certainly achieved that as New Waverly was dominant for most of the season. After losing two of its first three games, the Bulldogs went on a tear, winning 19 of its final 20 regular-season games, which included a perfect run through District 21-2A.

Much of the Bulldogs’ success came from its young pitching staff. When Matt Roberts and Cole Bohannon were on the mound, New Waverly was nearly untouchable. That was the case even in the playoffs until the Bulldogs ran into a pesky White Oak squad, which ended New Waverly’s dreams of advancing to the state tournament on Saturday.

Roberts picked up three of his 10 wins in the playoffs against Shelbyville, Deweyville and White Oak. Roberts finished the season with a 0.89 earned run average and 104 strikeouts.

Bohannon went 8-1 on the year with a 2.60 ERA.

The good news for the Bulldogs is that Roberts is only a sophomore and Bohannon a freshman.

With those two hurlers, along with juniors Ryan Reyes, who was an all-state selection in ’08 but was hobbled with bicep problems for most of this season, and Matt Gray, the Bulldogs have a solid foundation in the lineup for next season.

Not only is New Waverly set on the mound, but the Bulldogs can expect their offense to be even better with nearly every starter returning.

The Dogs will return four batters who hit better than .300, including Gray, who batted .467 and drove in 35 runs.

The only starter New Waverly will be without is shortstop Rhett Bohannon, who helped the Dogs advance as far as they did because of his defensive acumen.

While New Waverly didn’t quite get as far in the playoffs as it hoped, with another year of its pitchers and batters becoming more battle-tested, the Bulldogs may make even more noise in 2010.

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