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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Making good progress
With plenty of young, talented players in fold, Bulldogs have bright future ahead of them
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Raring to go
They’re as ready as they’re going to be. With two weeks to prepare from their district meet, the Huntsville swimmers will take the next step toward qualifying for state today. Over the next two days, a group of Hornets and Lady Hornets will take part in the Class 4A Region V swimming meet at the Magnolia I.S.D. Natatorium with the preliminaries taking place today and the finals on Saturday.
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Next week’s playoff matchups all set
After spending countless hours in the gym, the hard work has paid off for both the girls basketball teams from Huntsville and New Waverly. Now the fun begins as the Class 4A and 2A girls basketball playoffs get going next week.
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OUTGUNNED: First-place Mavericks shoot down Sam Houston, run winning streak to 14
Texas-Arlington had an answer for every Sam Houston run Wednesday night on the way to a 75-63 victory over the Bearkats. It was the Mavericks’ 14th consecutive win and improved their Southland Conference record to 10-0.
The last team to start league action with such perfection was Sam Houston in 2010, a team which won the conference’s regular season as well as the postseason tournament championship. -
Championship salute
The Southland Conference champs from Sam Houston State received special recognition on Wednesday night for the most successful football season in school history.
Huntsville Mayor Mac Woodward, SHSU President Dana Gibson and Walker County Judge Danny Pierce were among those who honored the Bearkats during halftime of the Bearkats’ basketball game against Texas-Arlington.
Woodward declared Feb. 8 Bearkat Pride Day. -
Bearkat women win again, 61-45
Britni Martin scored 18 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead Sam Houston State to a 61-45 Southland Conference women’s basketball victory over UT-Arlington on Wednesday at the new UTA College Park Center in Arlington.
All four of Martin’s field goals were 3-pointers and the junior forward from Conroe went 6-of-6 from the foul line to post her 17th double-figure scoring performance of the season. -
Alive and kicking
For the third consecutive game, the Hornets played like a team that does not want basketball season to end anytime soon.
Desperate to notch another victory over Willis, the Huntsville boys jumped on the Wildkats early. The Hornets used their muscle and started pulling away in the second half, then when Willis made a late rally, Huntsville’s hungry bunch had enough energy left to hold off the Wildkats in a wild 76-63 victory at the Paul Bohan Hornet Gym. -
Lady Hornets roll through district undefeated again
The Lady Hornets did it again. For the second consecutive season, the Huntsville girls basketball team rolled through District 18-4A play without a loss.
On Tuesday night in Willis, the Lady Hornets closed out another perfect 14-0 district campaign with an 86-33 win over the LadyKats. -
New Waverly seniors close out regular season in style
In their final game of the regular season, the Lady Bulldogs just enjoyed themselves in a 60-46 win over Anderson-Shiro.
This was a team New Waverly beat on the road earlier in the season and a win in “Bulldog Country” would be the appropriate way to send out seniors Myeisha Williams, Morgan Eastland, Whitney McCullough and Alex Abbott. - More Sports Headlines
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