WIN OR GO HOME
Road to state brings back familar foe
By GEORGIA PURDY Newsboy Correspondent

Newsboy photos/Georgia Purdy JASPER CATCHER BLAKE WELLER-ALEXANDER reminds his teammates that they need one more win to advance after winning game two against Bellville.

The Jasper Bulldogs have long been considered a playoff powerhouse. Year in and year out, the Dawgs can be found in their rightful place - the postseason.

But this year, the Dogs have a different feel to them. A mixture of veterans and youngsters launched Jasper into the playoffs with a chance to make a long run towards the Class 3A state title.

"It's hard to know a lot about teams from other districts because they are so far away," said Jasper Head Baseball Coach Shawn Mixon. "We can find out about their record but still not really know how they play."

And as for their chances in the playoffs this year?

"We need to throw strikes and play defense. Offensively, we need to put the ball in play," Mixon said. "I wouldn't be surprised if the teams in our district keep playing." If we can put some pressure on La Grange, we

have a chance. We have to make them earn their runs and we can't walk anyone nor can we make errors."

Har, Har, Har

Head Coach Shawn Mixon congratulates Ryan Ellis (2) after the win over Bellville in the regional quarterfinals. Ellis pitched game two and three innings of game three in pacing the Bulldogs on the mound.

The Jasper Bulldogs opened against La Grange in a best twoout of-three series this week in the Region III

Class 3A Area finals at Humble High School.

This is the second time in three years these two teams have met in post-season play. The Leopards knocked Jasper out of state contention in 2004 in the regional finals.

Jasper won the District 21-3A title and is 24-5 on the season. La Grange was the runner up in District 24-3A with a record of 7-3 in district and 19-9 on the season.

The Bulldogs made fast work on La Grange as they swept a twogame series from them 3-0 and 6-3.

Like had been the case during some district contest, Jasper was forced to move from the original Humble site to Austin to play La Grange

Newsboy photo/Georgia Purdy JASPER FIRST BASEMAN CHANTZ PRYOR waits for a throw from Ryan Ellis as they attempt to pick up a Lufkin Hudson baserunner. Jasper swept Lufkin Hudson in two-games to advance in the playoffs.

"The schedule was crazy but the guys stayed focused and played well," Mixon said. "We're really proud of the team."

Travis Reagan struck out 12 and gave up only three hits in game one.

"Travis pitched real good," Mixon said. "He did a good job for us."

The Bulldogs had six hits and runs were scattered. They scored one in the first inning, again in the third and fourth. Justin Parsons had two hits and one RBI. Reagan hit an RBI double; Malcolm Bronson also had a hit.

"Our hits were scattered. Parsons probably had the best night," Mixon said.

In game two, the 'Dogs again played excellent defense and again, committed not a single error, scoring six runs on nine hits.

Left-hander Justin Parsons pitched four and a third innings. He gave up four hits and three runs. Aaron Stephenson came in for the save, pitched two and a third innings and gave up one hit.

Newsboy photo/Georgia Purdy JASPER'S Travis Reagan and Malcolm Bronson are greeted at the plate by Blake Weller-Alexander. Both scored in the 10-run first inning as the Dawgs made short work of Lufkin Hudson in a two-game playoff series.

"They both did a good job pitching," Mixon said. "We played good defense again and didn't make any errors. We made all of our plays. Robert Shellhammer and John Bradley made some good plays in the outfield. The infield made their plays. You can't ask for more than that."

Jasper got on board in a hurry as Parsons drove in Taylor Hart in the first inning. The Bulldogs were up 4-0 through three innings. In the fourth, La Grange scored three runs, making a 4-3 game.

Jasper was up by only one run until the seventh inning when Bradley led off with a hit. Stephenson bunted him to second, Reagan reached base, and Ryan Ellis bunted the runners to second and third. Then Chantz Pryor drove in the runners.

"In the bottom of the seventh, Aaron went back out to the mound and finished them off," Mixon said. "I couldn't ask for anything better. We're very proud of our team."

EVEN WHEN FACING A tough pitcher like Bridge City's Jeff Stringer, Jasper's baserunners are always looking for an advantage to steal bases. Jasper placed constant pressure on opposing pitchers by running on the basepaths during contests this year. This pressure paid off for the Bulldogs as they earned a trip to the state Class 3A finals in Round Rock. Enterprise photo/Tammy McKinley

The victory sent Jasper into regional quarterfinal matchup with District 24-3A champion Bellville in the Woodlands.

As for the Bulldogs' chances against Bellville, Mixon said, "We'll be ready."

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Jasper had to rally from a first game defeat to sweep two games from the Bellville Brahmans to capture their regional quarterfinal matchup.

After a 4-3 loss on Thursday night, the 'Dogs had 15 hits in an 11-4 victory in game two; then followed up with a 3-0 win in game three which began 30 minutes later.

Aaron Stephenson did a good job on the mound in game one, but the Bulldogs were flat at the plate. Their three runs came on only four hits. Defensively, Jasper did what they usually do, played an error-free game.

JASPER JUNIOR TAYLOR HART dives back to first base during the playoff series with Bridge City. Jasper defeated their district rival to advance to the Class 3A state finals. Enterprise photo/Mark Hankcock

Ryan Ellis threw the entire second game plus the first three innings of the third.

"We would have left Ellis in, but UIL rules only allow a pitcher to throw a total of 10 innings in two back-to-back games," Mixon said. "Ryan had been throwing real well the last couple of weeks in practice so we knew he would probably start in one game of the series. He did a very good job."

Ellis' side-arm throw is difficult to hit. In game two, the Brahmas scored a single run in the fourth inning and finally picked up three in the seventh.

"His delivery creates movement on the ball, so he is hard to hit," Mixon said. "We had a big lead by the seventh inning and knew we had the game won, so then Ellis just piped in some fastballs. He gave up a total of six hits and walked two."

The Bulldogs scored two runs in the first inning, one in the second and third, three in the fifth and four in the seventh."

"We hit the ball real well," Mixon said.

Left-hander Justin Parsons threw the last four innings of game three and struck out six.

"When Justin came in, it was all over," Mixon said. "He had two base runners in four innings and picked off one of those. Justin was good- very sharp."

Despite Jasper's sluggish performance at the plate in game one, defense was excellent in all three games.

"We had no errors," Mixon said. "We played good clean baseball and great defense, and even though we didn't swing the bats in game one, we made up for it in the next two games. Everybody played well. Blake Weller- Alexander had a real good series and also Taylor Hart. Malcolm Bronson and John Bradley had good at bats the whole series- and Parsons as well. They were all very good in all three games."

One distinguishing trait of this team is their relaxed attitudes in the dugout. No one seems to be down or overly stressed no matter how a game is progressing.

"They never get down or uptight," Mixon said. "They handled Thursday's loss very well. They were upset that they didn't play better, but that didn't affect the later games. They tease each other in the dugout and act crazy between games. They are really a fun group of guys to coach. I am very proud of them."

Ease on down the road

Jasper made easy work on Lufkin Hudson as the Dawgs swept the playoff series with scores of 3-1 and 18-1 to advance to the Region III Championship.

Travis Reagan fired 13 strikeouts in 10 innings to earn the 3-1 win over the Hudson Hornets in game one.

With the score tied 1-1 in the seventh inning, Aaron Stephenson came in to run after John Bradley singled. Ryan Ellis doubled, driving in Stephenson for what should have been the winning run; however, the home plate umpire ruled that Stephenson missed the bag at third.

In the top of the 10th, Ellis led off with a single, Robert Shellhammer singled on a fielder's choice, forcing Ellis out at third. But the 'Dogs weren't through. Taylor Hart doubled Shellhammer to third and Malcolm Bronson hit a foul ball, which the left fielder caught. Shellhammer tagged up and scored. Hart then went to third on the throw home and scored on a throwing error.

"We didn't get the breaks and had a couple of controversial calls," Mixon said. "But that just makes our kids work harder."

The Bulldogs completely took away the Hornets' sting in game two when they took batting practice in the first inning with 10 runs scored.

Lead-off batter Taylor Hart walked, Malcolm Bronson singled, Travis Reagan walked, Justin Parsons doubled, Chantz Pryor singled, Blake Weller- Alexander walked, John Bradley doubled and Ryan Ellis singled and there were still no outs. After batting around, Hart was up again. He singled and Reagan slammed a three-run homer. When the side finally retired, Jasper was up 10-1.

Ryan Ellis threw the first three innings and left the mound with a score of 15-1. Left hander Justin Parsons came in to pitch in the top of the fourth and when the game ended after the fifth inning, Parsons had five strikeouts and the Bulldogs had added three more runs.

Six players had at least two hits each: Hart, Reagan, Shellhammer, Bronson, Ellis, and Pryor. Parsons had three hits and drove in four runs. Pryor also had four RBIs and Regan drove in three runs on his home run.

"I'm real proud of them," Mixon said. "The kids feel real good about the way they are playing and that's the best thing."

While the 18-1 win in game two was sweet, the real highlight came when right fielder Jaylon Clotiaux took the field for one pitch. Clotiaux, who sustained a head injury several weeks ago, received a standing ovation from the Bulldogs and their fans.

We meet again

Jasper and district rival Bridge City had met twice during the district season with the Dawgs capturing both contests.

But as they got ready to meet in the Region III Championship in Beaumont, all those scores were thrown out the window.

"If we play like we are capable of doing, we have a chance," he said. "In baseball, anything can happen. A single bobbled ball can make the difference between win- -ning and losing."

"Our pitchers have been throwing where we want to and we've been good on the bases," Mixon said. "We've played real good defense, so far."

"Right now, we just have to concentrate on winning the next series. I think it will be a matter of how well WE play. If we play well, we can stretch this thing out a few more games. This is a fun team to coach and we just hope we can keep playing," Mixon said.

Classic series

Freshman third baseman Parker Phillips made the tag of the year June 2 in Beaumont.

Phillips took a throw from shortstop Travis Reagan for the final putout in the seventh inning of game three in the Region III Class 3A finals Saturday, advancing the Bulldogs to the state semifinals.

"It was close but we pulled it out," DH Malcolm Bronson said. "I feel so good I don't know what to do. I had faith the whole time. When John hit and Travis came in, I knew we would win it."

Jasper's last shot at a state title was 1985 in Class 4A.

With the score tied 1-1 in the bottom of the sixth, Travis Reagan doubled to left field, setting up the final Jasper run. Justin Parsons moved Reagan to third on a ground out and Blake Weller-Alexander was hit by a pitch.

With two outs and two runners on base, John Bradley smacked the gamewinning hit with a single to center, giving Jasper the 2-1 go ahead run

"We told the guys to get us one run and JP would take care of the rest," said assistant coach Steve Smith, referring to pitcher Justin Parsons.

Parsons threw a complete game plus three innings the day before. The left-hander allowed only one run on five hits and struck out four batters with two walks. He threw 56 strikes out of 86 pitches.

"It was a blast," Parsons said. " It was what we wanted from the beginning. Sometimes it was hard to get the outs with two and three runners on base and I couldn't do it without our defense behind me. The defense did a great job."

Bridge City threatened in the top of the seventh when Troy Bolton doubled with a runner on first. Bradley fielded the ball to Reagan who threw to Phillips on third for the tag, giving Jasper the 2-1 victory.

"It is exciting to know we are going to state," catcher Blake Weller- Alexander said. "Our district really helped us. They put pressure on us. It helped to play tough teams. We also had great fans. I want to thank the fans for their support."

Jasper found themselves in a must-win situation June 2 at Vincent-Beck Stadium. With an 8-6 win in game one followed by an 8-6 loss in the second game, they had to get past the Cards in order to advance to the UIL state championship games.

The series had not been a cakewalk. Game one was a come-from-behind win.

Bridge City took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning against starting pitcher Travis Reagan.

Chantz Pryor singled in the second; then stole second and third. Pryor then scored on an overthrow to first by pitcher Jeff Stringer. Bridge City scored three more runs in the bottom of the inning, giving them a 5-1 lead. But the Dogs weren't finished.

Aaron Stephenson came to the mound in the bottom of the third inning and it was a new ballgame.

Jasper rallied in the fourth when leadoff hitter John Bradley singled and then went to second on a wild pitch by Stringer.

Taylor Hart drew a walk and DH Malcolm Bronson ripped a two-run triple to right field, scoring Bradley and Hart. Reagan singled in Bronson from third and Justin Parsons advanced to first on a dropped third strike and another throwing error by Bridge City. Pryor then hit a two-run single and the Dogs tied the Cardinals 6-6.

Jasper scored two additional runs in the fifth. Bradley led off again with another single followed by a sacrifice bunt by Aaron Stephenson. Hart hit and was safe on first on another Cardinal throwing error. Bradley scored and Bronson hit an RBI single, scoring Hart and giving the Bulldogs an 8-6 lead.

Stephenson struck out three of seven batters in the last two innings and threw nine total strikeouts. Jasper scored eight runs on nine hits and committed an unusual two errors. Bridge City had six runs on nine hits and three errors.

It looked like Jasper was on a roll when they jumped out with a 3-0 lead in the third inning of game two with Ryan Ellis on the mound, but the Cardinals answered with four runs in the fourth.

Parsons took over the mound in the fifth inning to pitch out of some tough innings, but the Cardinal bats were still alive, producing a run in each of the fifth and sixth innings.

The Dogs put another run on the board in the bottom of the sixth, but the Cardinals came back with two more in the top of the seventh. Jasper rallied in the bottom of the seventh with an additional two runs but could not pull out the win, ending the game with an 8-6 loss.

Bridge City scored 8 runs on 8 hits and committed three errors; Jasper had 6 runs on five hits with one error.

For the series, Travis Reagan had six hits, two runs and two RBIs; Taylor Hart, three hits, three runs; Chantz Pryor, three hits, two runs, two RBIs; Malcolm Bronson, one hit, two runs, two RBIs; John Bradley, three hits, two runs, one RBI; Justin Parsons, one hit, two runs; Robert Shellhammer, one hit, one run; and Blake Weller- Alexander, one hit and one RBI.