Mustangs sweep Texans, advance to championship
Kingwood’s dominance continued in the playoffs Friday night.
The Mustangs defeated Lamar 8-3 to the sweep in the Class 6A regional semifinal series at Reckling Park. Kingwood advances to the Region III-6A final for the first time since 2007.
“Our guys have a lot of playoff experience,” said Kingwood head coach Kelly Mead. “Two years ago, we started two freshmen and five sophomores, so we’ve got a lot of playoff experience. Now, they’re playing like they have been here before.”
Kingwood will play Fort Bend Ridge Point, which defeated Atascocita 7-6 Friday night.
Lamar ends the season 31-7-2.
Kingwood (31-6-2) has outscored its opponents 6510 with a pitching staff that had five straight shutouts in the playoffs.
“I’m going to say that its our chemistry that has us playing well,” Mead said. “These kids play for each other and want to do whatever it takes to make sure they have each other’s backs.”
Kingwood starter Ryan Michie had three strikeouts in 61⁄3 innings of work.
“I was just spotting my fastballs, throwing (to) the outside corners and throwing my two-seam fastball,” Michie said. I wasn’t really trying to do too much, and I trusted my defense behind me.”
Lamar was held scoreless until the seventh.. Drew Woodcox hit a twoout 2-run triple and Sam Frank followed with an RBI single to cut Kingwood’s lead to 8-3. But Kingwood closer Nick Luckett ended the threat with a strikeout to secure the ’ victory.
“Michie pitched a heck of a game,” Mead said. “That’s what we expect out of him. There were times where he got in a few jams, but he was able to push out of those situations. That’s what playoff baseball is all about. Every inning is going to be a challenge and you have to fight through it.”
Kingwood shortstop Tre Richardson hit an RBI double as the Mustangs took a 2-0 lead after two innings.
“I have been struggling the last two series with my at-bats so it was good to get on base this series,” said Richardson, who went 3for-3 with two RBIs. “I just had to go back in the cage and work on a few things with my dad and I was able to get things going this series to help out our team win.”
Kingwood will turn their attention to the Panthers.
“There aren’t words to describe how I feel right now,” Richardson said. “We haven’t been to the regional finals since 2007 and we are breaking streaks this season. It has been fun playing with my brothers and whenever things go bad in the game we all are there for each other. We’re on a run right now and we need to keep this season going.”