Wednesday at the University of Houston baseball program's Specialty Camp was a fairly typical day, save three hours of inside instruction at the Campus Recreation and Wellness Center because of heavy thunderstorms. About 120 campers from ages 11 to 17 were present - including none other than Alex Rodriguez. No, not the Yankees shortstop who also owns a Mercedes-Benz dealership in League City, but a pitcher from Mercedes, Texas, a Rio Grande Valley town about five miles from the Mexican border. He was one of a wide variety of participants from such schools as Strake Jesuit, Memorial and Seven Lakes who spent much of the afternoon focusing on mechanics and taking part in a bullpen session. "We're mostly going over the mechanical aspects of hitting, pitching and catching this week," Cougars assistant coach Abe Arguello said.

  Coming off a District 20-5A championship, the Lamar baseball team completed its summer ball season with a 9-7 loss to Westside Monday night at Stratford High School.

   When Jason Willis put in his resume with the head baseball coach position at Stratford opened up, he just put it in “on a whim.” Turns out the whim was good enough for him to land the job. Willis, who was the head coach at Klein Forest for the last three years, now comes cross-town to help the Spartan program climb back into one of elite teams in the Houston area. “It’s going to be a great experience,” Willis said.

The Westside baseball team is trying to keep looking ahead at what should be a strong 2009 season after a lot of successes in 2008.

  Coaches, players and fans alike lauded the Houston Heat’s 18-U Black team scoring 13 runs Friday night against the Columbia Knights in the Houston Heat Summer Showcase.

  The Stratford baseball team had the talent to make the postseason this year but fell one game short. If the Spartans get over the hump in 2009, it will be with a new coach. Former Klein Forest coach Jason Willis recently was hired at Stratford, succeeding Tony Mardirosian. Willis coached Klein Forest for three seasons.

 {mp3}TOP 10-Bellaire BB 20080619{/mp3}   Despite falling in the state semifinals, Bellaire baseball coach Rocky Manuel refuses to take anything away from his team’s season. “I’m not going to apologize for making the final four in Texas,” Manuel said.

        Many of the pitchers who participated in Wednesday night’s Houston Area Baseball Coaches Association Junior Game threw in the Area Code Combine and additional competition the previous day, prompting an assistant coach to predict the offenses would have a field night. Once the game began, they did. In a game featuring five lead changes and 17 hits, the Red team used a two-run rally in the sixth inning to edge the Blue 7-6 at Rice University’s Reckling Park. “We saw them (the pitchers from the combine) again tonight and we knew they were good pitchers,” said Red team and Klein Collins centerfielder Tyler Naquin, who went 3-for-3 with a two-run double.

          Maybe all-star games in other sports are made for scoring, but apparently not baseball.

            After a rain delay that pushed the start of the game back 45 minutes, the Northwest 5A All-Stars reigned upon their counterparts to the east. The second game of the Houston Area Baseball Coaches Association’s All-Star week saw the Northwest team beat the Northeast 5A All-Stars 3-1 Tuesday night at Rice’s Reckling Park.   Klein outfielder Jason Mohn got the big hit for the Northwest All-Stars with a two-out, two-RBI double in the second inning, scoring Katy outfielder Joey Fuda and Cinco Ranch infielder Michael Hutchins.

  Westside baseball coach Emrick Jagneaux, who guided the Wolves to within one win of the state tournament last month, has resigned to accept the head coaching job at Deer Park.   Jagneaux replaces Rick Crawford, who was released following the 2008 season.

  The Houston Area Baseball Coaches Association held its annual summer scouting combine Monday afternoon at Houston Baptist University for area senior players who haven’t signed to a college and for select juniors who were nominated by their coach. The combine brought several players from across the Houston area and outlying areas, including Conroe, Needville and Manvel.   The camp was held by several area coaches, who tested the players in running, throwing speed, and hitting. The event kicked off the HABCA All-Star week.

  It’s a tough decision to decide what college to go to. But for some high school baseball players, they have to make another tough choice. For those local high school prospects who were selected in the Major League Baseball Draft, they have two options: either take their skills to college or go to the minors and start their dreams of playing in the majors. Ross Seaton, a pitcher at Second Baptist who was drafted with the 109th pick by the Houston Astros in the supplemental B round.

      ROUND ROCK, Texas — Despite falling in the state semifinals, Bellaire head coach Rocky Manuel is not going to take anything away from his team’s season. “I’m not going to apologize for making the final four in Texas,” Manuel said.

  ROUND ROCK, Texas - Southlake Carroll's 22 wins entering the state baseball tournament were official in name only. Observers knew the Dragons were much better than that, something Friday night Bellaire learned first-hand. Carroll, which had to forfeit 11 wins during the regular-season because it used an ineligible player, hacked Cardinals pitching for six hits in a four-run third inning, and ousted Bellaire 7-1 in the second of two semifinals at Dell Diamond. Southlake Carroll (23-18) will meet Plano West (39-2) at noon Saturday for the 5A championship.

  Six local high school baseball players were selected in the Major League Baseball draft Thursday and Friday, and at least two of their paths at this point are as yet unknown. Second Baptist pitcher Ross Seaton was drafted 109th overall by the Astros, Cy-Fair's Robbie Grossman was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates in the sixth round, and teammate Tommy Collier went to the Milwaukee Brewers in the 29th round.   Later, Westside pitcher Michael Goodnight went with the 831st pick to the Cleveland Indians, Lamar shortstop Anthony Rendon went 820th to Arizona and Memorial outfielder Jeremy Rathjen went to the Diamondbacks with the 1,365th pick.

  All season long, it seemed like the Bellaire baseball team loved to be doubted. The players thrived on having people not believing that they could make it to state. “Everybody doubted us, and that’s what we like to have: haters,” centerfielder Jarrett Higgins said.

  Bellaire enters the 5A state tournament as the most decorated team of the field. But there are two tough teams that might stand in the Cardinals’ way to an eighth state title in baseball. Bellaire (39-8) clinched its 11th trip to the state semis after beating Westside in three games this past weekend to win the Region III championship.

{mosimage}   Bellaire’s Kyle Chaskin was already having a good postseason performance before last weekend. He helped the Cardinals survive a tough series against Alvin with strong performances at the plate and on the mound. {mosimage}And he continued his strong play this past weekend to help the Cardinals reach the state semifinals for the 11th time in school history. And even though he’s a sophomore, he has stepped up playing like a senior in helping the Cardinals to get them one step closer to a state title. In the series against Westside, Chaskin was 4-for-7 at the plate with five RBI.

  {mp3}Regionalwrap20080531{/mp3} The Bellaire baseball team will play Southlake Carroll in the second of two 5A state semifinals at 7 p.m.

    (Game 3)     (Game 2)      (Game 2)    (Game 3)    A pair of shutouts was the difference in the Region III-5A finals, but it wasn't Westside that got them. Kyle Chaskin and Jeffrey Rohrbach each pitched a complete-game shutout as the Bellaire Cardinals beat Westside 2-0 in Game 2 and 6-0 in the third and decisive game of the Region III-5A finals to head to the state semifinals in Round Rock next weekend.

   (Game 2)  (Game 3)   It wasn’t that the Westside baseball team missed opportunities Saturday in Games 2 and 3 of the 5A-Region III finals against Bellaire. The Wolves rued not creating them in the first place. “When you don’t score one run in 14 innings you don’t deserve to win,” coach Emrick Jagneaux said. Following a 3-2 win in Game 1 Friday night, Westside mustered only one hit in Game 2, a 2-0 loss, and six in a 6-0 loss in Game 3 but stranded seven baserunners at Ray Knoblauch Field. Bellaire starter Kyle Chaskin threw only 77 pitches in Game 2, then Game 3 starter Jeffrey Rohrbach rarely was threatened.

 (Game 2)    (Game 3)   The comeback story of the Bellaire baseball team continued Saturday.

      Plenty of Houstonians are really happy Westside pitcher Taylor Wall is going to Rice next season.

          It’s the most important series yet and both Westside and Bellaire's baseball teams were looking for the first win in the regional finals at Ray Knoblauch Field.

  Taylor Wall shined in another strong postseason start to power Westside to a 3-2 victory against Bellaire in Game 1 of their regional final series Friday night at Ray Knoblauch Field. Wall, who threw a no-hitter in his last postseason start against Baytown Sterling, struck out 10 Friday.

{mp3}BB podcast 20080529{/mp3}    Westside and Bellaire meet this weekend at Roy Knoblauch Field at the Butler Sports Complex to see which Houston ISD schools will play in the state baseball semifinals June 6 in Round Rock. This is a tough series to call.

  Westside coach Emrick Jagneaux is not expecting anything new or different from Bellaire heading into their 5A-Region III final series this weekend.

  {mp3}BB podcast 20080527{/mp3}   Maybe it was an honest moment's hesitation. Or maybe Westside baseball coach Emrick Jagneaux was measuring his words. Either way, Jagneaux said following the Wolves' clinching victory in the regional semifinals that he didn't care whether District 20-5A rival Bellaire or nationally-ranked Alvin was their regional final opponent. "It doesn't really matter to me right now who we play," Jagneaux said Friday, minutes after Westside swept Baytown Sterling with a 6-5 win in Game 2.

      (Game 3)          (Game 2)   MANVEL - Bellaire baseball coach Rocky Manuel has a knack for saying what’s on his mind.

       MANVEL - The Bellaire baseball team swept two games from Alvin Saturday, winning by 7-6 and 5-3 scores to take their regional quarterfinal series 2-1.

        MANVEL - Errors can make a pretty good game look really bad.

        Having pitched only twice this season, doing so in a season-saving situation was the farthest thing from Westside second baseman Michael Falcone’s mind Friday, even as host Baytown Sterling got the winning run on base in the seventh inning. But after Cory Maltz hit the leadoff batter and walked the second with the Wolves leading 6-5, to the surprise of many coach Emrick Jagneaux turned to his seldom-used senior – seldom only in the pitching sense – and asked him to bail out his team. “I had no clue,” Falcone said.

           One pitching ace was untouchable in Game 1 of the Westside-Baytown Sterling regional semifinal series Thursday night.

  A signed baseball in the office of Westside baseball coach Emrick Jagneaux commemorates the program’s first playoff win, a rout of Sam Houston on May 1, 2002. In most respects, the Wolves, who will play their first-ever regional semifinal game Thursday, have grown by leaps and bounds in the six-plus years since. But in one crucial respect, Westside never has changed. The Wolves don’t score much, and because of that their pitching usually carries the day. “It’s not necessarily the easiest situation but it (low-scoring games) is better for me because it keeps me focused,” said Wolves senior pitcher Taylor Wall, who shares the “ace” moniker with classmate Michael Goodnight.

      Given that the entire city knew the identity of St.

  Just like opposing hitters, Westside baseball coach Emrick Jagneaux can’t really choose between his top two pitchers, Taylor Wall and Michael Goodnight. {mosimage} “Taylor’s a finesse pitcher and Michael’s a power pitcher,” Jagneaux said.

  District 20-5A's reputation as one of the best, if not top-heavy, baseball districts in the state is alive and well for at least one more week. On one end of the spectrum is perennial power Bellaire, which is two rounds away from appearing in its 10th state tournament.

    (Game 2)    It was only fitting that these two HISD rivals each get two fantastic finishes in the playoffs, but only one will move on.   Friday night at Butler Stadium, Jarrett Higgins hit a walk-off RBI double to give Bellaire a 1-0 win in the third and decisive game against rival Lamar to advance to the Region III-5A semifinals next weekend.

        “We’re going into uncharted waters and that’s the fun part,” Westside baseball coach Emrick Jagneaux said Friday night.

          The late-inning magic continues for freshman Daniel Mengden and the Westside Wolves.

          The Bellaire Cardinals rallied for nine runs in the bottom of the fifth inning to take game 1 from Lamar in the Region III 5A Quarterfinals Thursday night at Butler Stadium.

This weekend should be what playoff baseball is all about: Two teams that know each other well meeting in a best-of-three series in search of a state championship. The Region III-5A quarterfinals will have two series featuring district rivalries.

  Cy-Fair pitcher Tommy Collier and Cypress Creek sophomore Brandi Virgil earned Most Valuable Player honors on the all-District 17-5A baseball and softball teams released this week. Collier, a senior, helped guide the Bobcats to the district championship.

    A reprisal of one competitive rivalry and the continuing advancement of Katy Taylor softball highlight the weekend’s baseball regional quarterfinal and softball regional semifinal schedule.   District 20-5A champion Lamar (28-5) will play Bellaire (33-5) in a best-of-three series beginning Thursday.

      After being shut out in the first game of the area playoff series, the Bellaire baseball team needed its bats to wake up big time Saturday at Katy's Tiger Field.   And woke up they did. The Cardinals squeaked out a 7-6 win in the second game and pulled away late for a 12-4 win to advance to the Region III-5A semifinals, where they will face District 20-5A rival Lamar next weekend. “It’s hard to come up here against Katy because they’re a well-coached ballclub,” Bellaire manager Rocky Manuel said.

          The Westside baseball team sent defending 5A state champion Cy-Fair home Saturday afternoon after taking Game 3, 3-1, in the best-of-three game series at Jersey Village.

        Something about lopsided losses brings out the best in the Memorial baseball team. While no one came out and called Friday night’s 10-run loss to Cypress Creek in Game 2 of their 5A-Region III area series a wake-up call, Memorial acted as such in Saturday’s decisive Game 3. Jeremy Rathjen slammed the first pitch of the game for a single, the first of nine Memorial hits, the Mustangs hit three home runs and they exacted revenge on the Cougars by ousting them in a run-rule, 13-3 at breezy, hitter-friendly Morton Ranch. DeMario Thibodeaux added a double and a two-run home run, M.P.

        The Cypress Creek baseball team bounced back in a big way Friday night to even their Region III-5A area playoff series against Memorial. The Cougars scored four runs in the sixth and seventh innings to win 10-0 at Memorial to force a third and decisive game at 1 p.m.

    Cy-Fair needed Tommy Collier to have a big performance Friday night, and they got it. Collier pitched a complete-game shutout to give the Bobcats an 8-0 win over Westside to force a third game in their Region III-5A area round playoff series.