Westfield and Lamar Consolidated return to baseball playoffs after years away.
Westfield’s baseball team returns to postseason for first time since ’98
Mario Barrett double-checked the record book.
“A long time” would have sufficed as an answer, with the question being how long has it been since Westfield made the baseball playoffs before returning this season? It was 1998. The Mustangs weren’t the only ones ending a playoff drought, but few can share in a stretch that goes longer than the ages of these players.
Still, snapping a streak is a big deal, even if it takes a little help to make it happen.
That is where Lamar Consolidated found itself after winning its regularseason finale but still needing Victoria East to beat Angleton. Over the next hour, the team sat in its locker room, following along on social media, rightfully celebrating when it became official.
“It was interesting because I already told the kids that we did what we had to do,” said coach Brandon Strother, whose Lamar Consolidated team made the playoffs for the first time since 2012. “They needed to be proud because everybody would be so down if we didn’t make it.
“But I told them, ‘You need to be proud of what you accomplished this year.’ In the four years before that, we had won four district games (total). This year, we won five.”
It’s easy to look past teams hoping for a breakthrough among Houston’s best or programs trying to rekindle old times simply because the area is tops in the state when in it comes to baseball being played at the highest level. The Houston area has claimed half of the University Interscholastic League’s Class 6A (then 5A) state championships in the last 10 years and 12 since 1998 with three mythical national champions (1999 Bellaire, 2002 Elkins and 2006 The Woodlands).
Klein Collins enters the playoffs Friday after winning its fifth consecutive district title. The Woodlands has not missed the postseason since 2003, winning two state championships in that span.
But it is not like that for everyone. Growth and changing demographics in the Houston area have turned strong programs in a number of sports into teams fighting to keep that identity.
In 2012, Lamar Consolidated won its fifth district title in six years while the Mustangs brought home six league championships across the board. But numbers shifted to newly built George Ranch, as did much of the athletic success.
Lamar Consolidated never won more than two district games annually from 2013-16.
“It was tough, especially for the coaches,” said Strother, who has been on staff since 2012. “The difficulty was after losing really bad that first season, as then the culture became a ‘This is who we are now.’ And it took until now to get back to more of a winning attitude.”
Westfield is surrounded by fruitful areas for baseball in Spring and Klein. Former coach Rick Lynch led Westfield to five playoffs appearance before he left for Tomball in 2000.
Good sometimes still wasn’t good enough. Kingwood won state in 2005 and beat rival Humble in the regional final. Westfield was in the same district, competed with both and even got a few wins.
“There have been years where we’ve had some good teams,” Barrett said. “But there’s just good baseball in this area.”
The payoff finally came this year.
Spring ISD split from Klein in the most recent UIL realignment and partnered with Aldine. All three Spring schools are in the playoffs for the first time.
Strother makes his players aware of Lamar Consolidated’s history with district titles and playoff appearances on display. Former Mustangs playing professionally, including Astros pitching prospect Brady Rodgers and St. Louis Cardinals outfielder Randal Grichuck, have returned to visit.
Lamar Consolidated beat Foster this season for the first time since 2012, starting what became its playoff push.
“You could see them just having a lot more confidence in their ability,” Strother said. “I guess it’s always better to put it together at the end of the season instead of the beginning.”