Burnet baseball has solid first week
CAPTION: Tate Lambright is one of several veterans the Bulldogs are counting on to deliver in all phases. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Burnet High School baseball team posted a 2-3 record during the first week of the season.
The Bulldogs defeated Fredericksburg 5-4 Feb. 16 in 11 innings in the season opener and Big Spring 7-1 Feb. 20 and lost to Austin McCallum 6-5 Feb. 19 and Fredericksburg 4-2 Feb. 20 at the Fredericksburg Tournament.
Head coach Russell Houston said he saw a lot of good things.
“I was pleased with the way we played this weekend,” he said. “We obviously made some mistakes. But overall, I was pleased with the competitiveness. The kids competed while playing in different spots than what they’re used to and overall just in general I thought we played some decent baseball this weekend.”
Houston had said that the Bulldogs would lean heavily on pitching and defense as they will play 15 games in three weeks. Little changed the coach’s mind after week one.
“I thought we threw a lot of strikes, and we had competitive a spirit when while we were pitching, meaning we just didn’t hrow 4 straight balls,” he said. “We were competitive, had a chance and we made some plays defensively. Obviously when it’s the first weekend, you’re going to have some kiddos who need some experience, and they made some mistakes. But overall, I thought we played really well defensively and pitched well.”
He added there is such a thing as complementary baseball.
“I definitely think there’s complimentary pitching and defense,” he said. “You have kids on the mound that are not necessarily strike-out pitchers. They are kids who are pitching to contact, and they are kids who are just throwing strikes and making sure that we’re not walking people. Well, if they’re doing their job while not walking people, then your job as a defensive player is to be able to make the routine plays and be able to make the outs, be able to make a play when you need to get out of an inning.
“And the same thing offensively,” he added. “It’s getting a two-out hits, extending the inning, getting the two-out hit where you have a chance to drive in a run here. There’s not necessarily a big inning where you’re putting up a crooked number, but it’s able to scratch one or two or keep yourselves in the ball game and have a little momentum.”
The Bulldogs will travel to play at Wimberley Tuesday, Feb. 24, at 6:30 p.m. then at the Llano Tournament Thursday-Friday, Feb. 26-28. They face Austin Hyde Park at 9 a.m. and Liberty Hill Legacy Rance at 1:30 p.m. both on Thursday, Harper at 3:45 p.m. Friday, and Llano at 2:30 p.m. Saturday. They’ll welcome Round Rock Westwood at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 3.
