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. Lamar and Bellaire split their two games in District 20-5A this season, as did Alvin and Brazoswood in District 24-5A. With both teams knowing the other so well, pitching and strategy become much more important in this kind of playoff series.

Both Lamar and Bellaire have pretty good pitching. The Cardinals got strong performances from Tyler Duffey and Tollar Boardman in their area round win over Katy last weekend, while the Redskins have Scott Erzinger and Peter Goudeau, who have been dominant for most of the season.

Also, both teams have been putting up a lot of runs recently. Lamar scored 22 runs in one game just to advance past Langham Creek (Creek scored 21 in that eight-inning marathon Friday night), while Bellaire scored 19 runs in two games against Katy after being shut out in the first game of the series.

Alvin’s pitching has been solid this season. Starters Aaron Stewart and Travis Jenkins each have earned run averages under two this season, and the rest of the staff is not that far behind. The Yellow Jackets look strong on the mound and at the plate, but Brazoswood has a couple of good arms in Colton Lindloff and Anthony McIntyre.

The other two quarterfinals matchups are equally entertaining.

Westside, another team from 20-5A, took out last year’s state champion, Cy-Fair, in three games thanks to clutch hitting from third baseman Daniel Mengden and masterful pitching by Taylor Wall and Cory Maltz. The Wolves now face a scrappy Memorial team, who outlasted a good Cy Creek team and hitting the ball very well so far in the playoffs.

The Elkins-Baytown Sterling matchup should be interesting, as the Rangers are riding high with the play of Hunter Cervenka, who not only pitched a complete game win against Clements in the area round, but hit two home runs, including a grand slam. But just like in years past, the Knights are a hard team to beat. Elkins squeaked past La Porte in three close games thanks to big hits from Travis Crow and Darren Hooks.

Other Houston-area teams in the playoffs include Klein, who faces Georgetown in a Region II-5A quarterfinal series at Bryan, while Lamar Consolidated faces Port Neches Grove in the Region III-4A quarterfinals.

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BASEBALL
Regional quarterfinals
Memorial (27-3) vs. Westside (25-3)
Game 1: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Langham Creek
Game 2: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Langham Creek
*Game 3: 2 p.m. Saturday, Langham Creek

Lamar (28-5) vs. Bellaire (33-5)
Game 1: 7 p.m. Thursday, Butler Stadium
Game 2: 5 p.m. Friday, Butler Stadium
*Game 3: 45 minutes after Game 2

Alvin (30-4) vs. Brazoswood (23-11)

Game 1: 8 p.m. Thursday, Brazoswood

 Game 2: 8 p.m. Friday, Alvin

*Game 3: 1:30 p.m. Saturday, Manvel

Fort Bend Elkins (28-8) vs. Baytown Sterling (27-3)

Game 1: 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Clear Lake

Game 2: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Clear Lake

*Game 3: 1 p.m. Saturday, Clear Lake

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