Last season was a rare one for the Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears’ baseball team as there was no post season. At the start of this year prognosticators had the Bears picked fifth in District 22-4A. Little Cypress-Mauriceville has proved those predictions grossly wrong as it prepares for the second round of the state playoffs this week.
Before the season started Coach Steve Griffith flat out said he did not see his Bears as the fifth best team in their district. “I knew when I read that publication that they were mistaken. Our kids although young last year some of them on many of our past teams would have been on JV. Not all of them were ready last year, and they are now,” Griffith emphasized.
Little Cypress-Mauriceville has gone from a 12-win team last year to a 30-win team this season. The result was a tight finish atop the district standings. The Bears split their two games with the Bridge City Cardinals, but they lost a tough one to the Silsbee Tigers to capture second place in District 22-4A, one game behind Bridge City.
In the Bi-District round of the UIL state playoffs LC-M trounced Diboll in two straight games. The Bears outscored the Lumberjacks 20-3 in the two-game sweep.
This week the competition gets tougher against the Huffman Falcons. Coach Griffith believes Huffman is similar to some of the other playoff teams the Bears have faced in district action. He has the players going through business as usual to get ready for the Falcons.
His scouts have informed Griffith that the Falcons can hit the ball and will try to outscore you. They do not have the dominate pitcher like last season, but their pitching is still solid and consistent. The coach added that Huffman is usually very strong defensively and anticipates the same in this playoff series.
Injuries have cut into the LC-M pitching rotation late in the season. Both Slade Green and Truman Franklin have had arm trouble late in the district season. Griffith informed that situation has improved as Franklin should be available to throw this weekend against Huffman. Pending some medical tests and the Bears winning this weekend Green could be back soon.
Another injury that is healing is the dislocated finger on the left hand of starting second baseman Jordan Alexander of the Bears. Griffith indicated Alexander might be back. Jordan played in the intra-squad game on Monday and had a hit, but on Tuesday the finger was not feeling good and he limited his swings. The coach is hopeful Alexander will be ready on Friday for Game 1 to play second base and bat leadoff.
The Little Cypress-Mauriceville Bears and the Huffman Hargrave Falcons are evenly matched according to Coach Griffith. “Whoever plays the best defense in this thing, I really feel like they will have an advantage,” Griffith analyzed.
Pitching depth is important in a best of three-game playoff series. Most teams do not have to show that during a two-game series during district Griffith pointed out. That changes with the playoffs and a best of three. The Bears have a solid eight-man staff and have won several games down the stretch in district using three pitchers each throwing two or three innings. Their arms should all be well rested. Coach Griffith gives the advantage to LC-M regarding pitching depth in this series.
Game 1 of the series will be Friday at 6:00 PM in Don Gibbens Field. The Bears go into the game riding a 19-game winning streak at home. Game 2 will be played Saturday at 4:00 PM in Crosby. A third game if necessary will be played following the second game. You can hear Saturday’s game on KOGT.
-Dan Perrine, KOGT-
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