Highlanders head to regional final
HUNTSVILLE — The Woodlands swept its Class 6A Region II semifinal series Friday night to move on to the fifth regional championship in program history and the first since 2013.
The Highlanders (2315-1), who won the first game 12-4 on Wednesday, completed the sweep of Klein with a 2-1 victory at Sam Houston State’s Don Sanders Stadium.
“It means a lot,” The Woodlands coach Ron Eastman said. “The kids have put in a lot of work this year. Great young men in the program and they’ve really come together in the last month. You can’t say enough about the character and the unselfishness of this group.”
The loss ends the season for Klein (23-16), which will be paired with the Highlanders, the rest of Conroe ISD’s Class 6A schools and the rest of Klein ISD for the next two years in the new District 15-6A.
“It’s going to be tough,” Bearkats coach Barry Smith said. “It’s going to be really tough. There’s going to be some good teams that stay home next year. That happens when you have a district that is that strong in baseball. There’s some good teams in their district and there’s some good teams in ours. It’s going to be a dogfight for those four playoff spots.”
On Friday,, The Woodlands held Klein to three hits behind a complete game from Will Swope. The righthander, the Highlanders’ No. 2 pitcher, struck out three and didn’t walk a batter in front of a strong defensive effort.
With the potential to close out the series, Eastman said Swope asked to pitch in Game 2.
“I’ve just been really comfortable out there these past few games, going out there and just competing,” Swope said. “I really just wanted to get this game done with for my team.”
The first baserunner did not come until the top of the third inning. The Bearkats had runners on the corners with two outs after a single and an error, but a fielder’s choice force at second got the Highlanders out of trouble.
In the bottom of the third, The Woodlands took a 2-0 lead. Five hits were put on the board as Shane Sirdashney and Casey Sunseri each batted in runs with singles. Ryan Solberg, who scored the first run on Sirdashney’s single, reached base on a perfectly placed bunt down the first baseline.
“I’m feeling good,” the Highlanders’ second baseman said. “The last couple weeks I’ve been working on staying short and making contact and just putting it in play. Things are working, so I’m going to stay with that.”
Klein got one run back in the fourth. Nathaniel Davis singled, then balked to second before Nathan Wellman’s double to right field brought him home.
Tyler Howell, who started on the mound for the Bearkats, was replaced by Collin Little after five innings. Howell allowed seven hits, struck out one, walked one and earned two runs.
“He did a good job of keeping us in the ballgame, no doubt about that,” Smith said of his starter. “(The Woodlands) is an explosive ballclub. They’re playing really well right now — they’re hot as can be. Offensively, they’re as good as we’ve seen this year for sure.”
Swope retired Klein in order five times in the series-clinching victory.