Pleasant Grove, Liberty-eylau rematch is just a series away
Pleasant Grove and Liberty-eylau, two schools located about 7 miles apart. The Hawks (29-5-1) and Leopards (28-6) are in the same district, 15-4A.
They’re both entering the fourth round of the Class 4A state baseball playoffs.
And if both win their next series, the two local powerhouses will play headto-head for the fourth time this season. Only this time, it’ll be in the Region II finals, with a trip to the Class 4A state tournament at Texas’ Disch-falk Field in Austin.
The Hawks have won all three previous meetings this year, but past history doesn’t matter as much as the present.
It could be like a rematch of 2021 when the two Texarkana teams collided for the regional crown. The Hawks won that series, two games to none. Both games were played before overflow crowds on Texas High’s Tiger Field.
“Wow, that was a dramatic series and a great chance for Texarkana fans to see two really good baseball teams playing each other,” said Liberty-eylau coach Zach Fowler.
And how do you feel about possibly playing Pleasant Grove again?
“We’re concentrating on Aubrey next and we’re not looking past anybody, because anything can happen this deep into the playoffs,” he said.
Otherwise, he offered no comment on a rematch.
Neither did Pleasant Grove coach Riley Fincher, whose sixthranked Hawks face No. 2 rated Celina (33-4) in their next playoff series.
“Our main focus is on our opponent this week, which is Celina,” Fincher said. “They are a a very talented team that advanced to the state tournament last year. We are preparing for Celina and Celina only.”
Fincher said Celina is “located in the Dallas-fort Worth Metroplex, near Prosper.”
The Hawks and Bobcats have not finalized the details of their series.
“We haven’t set anything — we’re still trying to work out all the details,” Fincher added.
The Leopards are building a winning tradition again.
“This will be three years in a row we have made it to the fourth round or better” in the state playoffs,” Fowler said. “That’s quite an accomplishment.”
It takes seven rounds to win the state baseball championship. The state tournament semifinals will be played at 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 7, with the state final set for 6:30 p.m. Thursday, June 8.
The Leopards reached the regional semifinals last year before losing a pair of close games to Celina, 4-2 and 4-1. The Hawks lost to Kilgore in the 2022 bi-district round.
Liberty-eylau advanced to the fourth round in 2021, losing to Pleasant Grove, 7-5 and 4-3.
And a rematch is just a series away.