PLAYOFF PREVIEW: BRENHAM CUBS VS. HENDRICKSON HAWKS
The Brenham Cubs will open their Area Round playoff series against the Pflugerville Hendrickson Hawks later tonight (Thursday) at 7pm in Pflugerville. The pregame coverage begins at 6:30pm on KWHI 1280AM, 101.7FM, and KWHI.com. Tommy Lange and I will have the call of the action.
Brenham is currently 21-10-1 on the season. They are coming off of a two game sweep of Montgomery High School last week. The Cubs won the opener 6-5 in twelve innings, and then took the second game 2-1. They are also currently on a five game winning streak.
Brenham finished as the number two seed in District 19-5A, only one game behind district front runner Magnolia. Magnolia was 12-4, while the Cubs were 11-5.
The Cubs rely heavily on the leadership of the 17 members of their Senior class, which make up 7 of their 10 starters (counting the DH).
They are coached by Chase Wheaton, who is in his third season at the helm. His record at Brenham is 54-26-2.
The Hendrickson Hawks are the District 18-5A Champions, and have a current record of 21-7. They finished 12-2 in district, one game ahead of second place Pflugerville Weiss , who finished 11-3.
The Hawks are coming off of a two game sweep of the Liberal Arts and Sciences Academy of Austin. Hendrickson won the first game 11-0, and the second game 13-3.
They are currently on a five game winning streak, and have won 17 of their last 20 games.
Pitching has been their strength this season. Senior Pitcher Ethan Doggett is 6-0 with a 2.03 ERA. Junior Pitcher Jaden Bahl is 5-2 with a 1.19 ERA. He also has 70 strikeouts in 47 innings pitched. Junior Pitcher Cameron Williams is 5-2 with a 1.79 ERA. He has 42 strikeouts in 31 1/3 innings pitched.
Their leading hitter is outfielder Daniel Pinkerton, who has 4 home runs, 24 RBIs, and a .451 batting average.
Their head coach Douglas Pierce has been there for 15 years, and has 251 career wins.
Game two of the series will be Friday night at 7pm at Fireman's Park (6:30pm pregame on the KWHI.com Sports Alternate Feed). If there is a third game needed, it will be Saturday at 1pm at Caldwell High School (12:30pm pregame on KWHI 1280AM, 101.7FM, and KWHI.com).
The winner moves on to the Region Quarterfinals to face the winner of the series between Austin Anderson and College Station.