Crosby breaks through a playoff barrier
Chris Wiggins and his coaching staff can’t predict the future.
So four years ago at the Crosby baseball prospect camp, which the program holds for incoming freshmen, the staff didn’t know the 2015 group would be the one leading the Cougars to heights they haven’t seen in some time.
Absolutely not, says the head coach, who last year led the team to a share of a district championship and its fourth playoff appearance in five seasons.
But the coaches did come away knowing there was something.
“As a staff, we said to ourselves, ‘This could be a special group,’ ” Wiggins said.
Aside from winning another district crown, this group of seniors has meshed with juniors and a talented sophomore to push Crosby to its deepest playoff position since 1996.
The Cougars meet Tomball in the Class 5A Region III semifinals, with the best-of-three series starting Thursday at The Woodlands John Cooper.
Since 1996, Crosby hasn’t made it out of the second round.
Some years, the opponent was just better. Texas City outscored Crosby 21-5 in the second round in 2000. It was a 27-2 run differential against Channelview in 2003.
Last year in the first round, Brenham won a close opener (10-9) before closing the series in lopsided fashion (18-0).
“It was very frustrating,” Wiggins said. “There were some times that we got out there and in some areas we were overmatched. But for a couple of the teams, we’ve had some very solid teams.”
One of those years was 2010. A second seed in the playoffs, Crosby beat Vidor before falling to perennial power Brenham in a close game in the second round. The Cubs went on to win the 4A championship, but another building block for the Cougars was set.
Nathan Grabyszwski, now a junior, was a batboy for Crosby while big brother Jeremy, now in the Toronto Blue Jays’ minor league system, was a star pitcher. The loss was heartbreaking, even to the young batboy.
“I remember him saying that six years ago,” Wiggins said. “I remember his mom telling me, ‘I think this hurt little Nathan more than it hurt Jeremy.’ But that’s the mindset — these kids have seen success, but they’ve seen limited success. They want to bust through that door, and they finally did.”
The final piece came in the fall as a number of baseball players helped the football team reach the state semifinals. The Cougars hadn’t been there since 1960.
Justin Cegielski was an all-district linebacker. Chase Bridgeman was an all-district offensive lineman.
“They’re pretty talented … but they’re just winners,” Crosby football coach Jeff Riordan said. “They’re fun to watch and compete.
“Football set the tone for the year, and at Crosby we share a lot of our athletes. So those kids from football, a lot of them went to basketball, a lot of them go to baseball, and a lot of them go to soccer. And that winning gets contagious, and I think right now, those (baseball) kids are just confident.” And talented. Hunter Hearn, who participated at the prospect camp with a cast on his arm and still excelled behind the plate, has become a rock at catcher and on the mound.
Grabyszwski, Sean Bergeron and Austin Hearn lead a deep pitching staff, while Davis Jenks has surprised and produced in relief.
Alec Lewis is just a sophomore, but he has a chance to homer every time up.
“His parents own the crossfit (gym) in town, so he’s one of those kids who looks like his parents own the crossfit in town,” Wiggins said.
The group was there last season, celebrating a district title and playoff appearance.
It’s different in 2015. They tasted success and failure. They’re older, better and deeper.
And if everything keeps falling their way, the Cougars will keep making history.
“Things have finally come together,” Wiggins said. “We’ve always had a piece here and a piece there. If somebody went down, we were in trouble. We maybe had to bring up somebody from the JV or something like that. Right now … it’s fun to watch.”