Linden-Kildare, James Bowie face off in playoffs at Tiger Field
Contributing Writer
Texarkana baseball fans will get an upfront glimpse of the Texas state playoffs this week at Texas High School’s Tiger Field.
The Linden-Kildare Tigers (18-8) and the James Bowie Pirates (20-4) will play a bestof-three Region III-2A championship series, with all games to be played on the THS diamond.
Game 1 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday. Game 2 is slated for 5 p.m. Friday, and if a Game 3 is necessary, it will begin about 30 minutes following Game 2.
“We’re expecting some big crowds on Thursday and Friday at Texas High,” Pirates head coach Eddy May said Sunday.
“We hope they’ll see some good, competitive baseball, too.”
The two teams finished 1-2 in District 17-2A, with Linden-Kildare placing first and James Bowie second.
“It’s been pretty amazing concerning our district playoff teams this year,” said Tiger head coach John Roberts. “All four teams reached the regional quarterfinals and then we had to play other teams from our district.
“Maud and Rivercrest reached the third round before losing, and now us and James Bowie are in the regional finals. That speaks highly for our district.”
The Pirates and Tigers have split a pair of games this year, with James Bowie posting a 5-4 victory and L-K winning 13-3.
“We’re definitely familiar with each other,” May said. “It should be a good series.”
The regional championship winner advances to the Class 2A state tournament June 5-6 at Dell Diamond in Round Rock, Texas. Dell Diamond is the home for the Houston Astros’ Triple-A affiliate, the Round Rock Express.
Linden-Kildare has reach the state baseball tournament three times, winning one state title in 1980 (8-7 over La Grange in Class 2A championship game). L-K also went twice in Class 3A, losing in the 1984 semifinals to eventual champion Oden, 6-4, and in the 1985 finals to Sweeny, 6-3.
James Bowie has never made a state baseball appearance.
“We’ve reached the regional final twice, and this will be our third trip,” coach May said. “I think our last regional final came in 2003 and the other was in 1987 when we lost to McLeod at Hooks.”
The other three regional finals teams are set. In Region 1, New Deal (23-3) faces Albany (23-6); Region 2, Valley Mils (26-6) collides with Windthorst (27-8-1); and Region 4, Refugio (26-1) tangles with Dallardsville Big Sandy (32-3).
The Class 2A semifinals will be played at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Wednesday, June 5, with the two winners clashing for the state title at noon Thursday, June 6. All three games will be played at Dell Diamond, which has a seating capacity of 11,631.