Regional preview: Heartstopping winners meet in finals (with podcast and schedule)
Monday May 26, 2008
Written by Dave Purpura
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. "I told the guys to give me a long weekend and they did."
The Wolves certainly won't need any extra time for preparation.
Bellaire earned another shot at Westside, wrestling its way into the regional finals by sweeping two games Saturday from Alvin, winning 7-6 and 5-2 at Manvel after losing Game 1 Friday.
Game 1 of the regional finals is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday. Game 2 will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, with a third game if necessary following 45 minutes after the first game.
All will be at Butler Stadium's Ray Knoblauch Field.
Fans might as well bank on the games being decided late.
The Cardinals are shooting for their best season since 1999, when they won both state and national championships. They've had to come from behind in two of their past three postseason series; they trailed 1-0 in series against Katy and Alvin and had to win Game 3 to edge rival Lamar in the regional quarterfinals.
“We persevered. We played with a lot of emotion and a lot of heart,” Cardinals coach Rocky Manuel told reporters. “We have a lot of tradition here. Our kids are trying to add to it. We have seven underclassmen on the field, too.”
Westside swept its two regular-season meetings with Bellaire, winning 4-2 on March 28 and 1-0 on April 15.
"We keep taking baby steps; now we're trying to take giant steps," Jagneaux said.
Bellaire got healthy doses of Westside aces Taylor Wall and Michael Goodnight in both games.
Goodnight got the win and Wall the save in the March game, when Westside won with single runs in the sixth and seventh innings.
Wall struck out 14 in the April game, when Goodnight's RBI hit in the sixth inning provided the only run.
"Thankfully we have a great team and we're gonna stay up through the whole game," Westside's Cory Maltz said Friday. "It's a tribute to this team and how well we jell together."
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