First week of 12-6A play shows competitive balance
Oak Ridge coach Mike Pirtle made the quip Friday night that District 126A baseball is so intense day in and day out that his hair is turning gray.
There might not be scientific proof of that. But he isn’t wrong about how competitive it is.
It’s been just a week — two games apiece per team — and it’s already shaping up to be a wild ride for the six competing programs looking to lock up a playoff spot.
“There’s six playoff teams in this district and two will sit home,” Pirtle said shortly after his War Eagles took a 6-1 decision over The Woodlands this past Friday night. “Every game is a must.”
Last year’s four playoff teams were The Woodlands, Oak Ridge, College Park and Lufkin. The consensus is all six teams are capable of placing top 4 in the standings this year.
“They way all of us coaches view these is that there are 15 different ballgames and we’re in an excellent district where you have six teams who are all capable of going to the playoffs,” The Woodlands coach Ron Eastman said.
Entering this week, Conroe and College Park sit atop the standings with 2-0 records. The Tigers pulled out victories over the War Eagles and then Lufkin Friday night. College Park beat Lufkin and then traveled to Montgomery to a win there Friday.
Oak Ridge and The Woodlands sit in the middle with 1-1 records while Montgomery and Lufkin are 0-2.
“You can see Lufkin and Conroe are close and Montgomery has a good ball club,” Pirtle said. “College Park has a lot of seniors. We just can’t get too high about this win (over The Woodlands).”
Eastman, who was inducted into the National High School Baseball Coaches Association Hall of Fame this past December in Tucson, Arizona and has guided the Highlanders to three state titles, has stressed to his team that it’s a marathon and not a sprint.
“We try not to make one more important than another,” Eastman said. “It’s 15 games and we’re just trying to compete every night. Hopefully we can get some offense going this week.”
Pirtle has the same even-keeled approach for the War Eagles.
“The message is going to be the same every week,” Pirtle said. “Everybody in the district is a good ball club. We can’t get too high on this one because now we have to go to College Park which has great players.”