Woodville makes easy work of Quitman
By CHRIS DABE The Enterprise

Braeden Riley couldn't have been blamed if his focus turned from baseball to another sport.

A shortstop and pitcher for the Woodville baseball team, Riley paints a picture of despair when thinking about the Eagles' early-season slump.

"Everybody seemed to struggle," said Riley, whose final high school athletic achievement at the time appeared set to take place on a golf course, not a baseball diamond.

Then things changed. A baseball winning streak that stands at 16 games began before Riley and the Woodville boys golf team qualified for the regional tournament in April.

That streak was part of the reason Riley didn't sweat over falling three strokes shy of making the cut for the Class 2A state golf competition.

Signed to play baseball at Sam Houston State, Riley knew by then his high school playing days would continue for as long as the wins kept coming.

"Everybody seemed to get hot later in the season," said Riley, a four-year varsity starting shortstop who played on Woodville's 2005 state title-winning team.

Woodville qualified for a third straight regional final appearance by winning twice last week against Quitman. The Eagles won a 10-0 game played over two days because of rain and an error-filled, 4-3 affair in which the deciding run scored from second on a well-placed bunt.

The Eagles (23-9) will play a best-of-three series against Hooks (26-8). The winner advances to the Class 2A state tournament in Round Rock.

The first game is 7:30 p.m. Thursday. The second game is 3 p.m. Saturday. A third game, if needed, is 30 minutes after Game 2. All are at UT-Tyler.

The state tournament is in Round Rock.

Riley and senior pitcher Reese Winters were both starters on that championship team two years ago.

Woodville coach Neil Hennigan told them before this season he expected a slow start.

"This was a rebuilding year," said Hennigan, who lost seven seniors from last season. "I told them we have a lot of green players and that it would take time."

The winning streak included a 10-0, fiveinning victory over Nacogdoches Central Heights, which entered that game undefeated in District 23-2A play.

"That gave us a lot of confidence," said Riley, selected to play in the Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association all-star game June 16 in Round Rock.

The Eagles continued that streak to win a share of the district title with Central Heights and six playoff games.

"It just kind of happened," Winters said of the team's turnaround. "Everybody at the beginning of the season didn't seem to be hitting well."

Catcher Trey Ford was the only other starter to return with Riley and Winters.

Other seniors from the team two years ago are centerfielder Paul Price and second baseman Brian MacGinnis.

"It seems like a lot of guys have stepped up," Riley said. "We have a lot of young guys, and we've all gotten better."