A Special Class

Kingwood Park seniors set culture of winning

Kingwood Park seniors set culture of winning
Along with Byrd, Panthers captain Taylor DeBrosky has left her mark with her stellar defense. Via VYPE

Originally Appeared on Vype

Since the group of eight walked onto the pitch, Kingwood Park has done almost nothing but win, including reaching the state tournament for the first time in program history last season.

"They've taken us to places we've never been before and set that as an expectation," White said. "When I first came in it was the third year of the school's program. We improved each year but when this group came in and their sophomore year we saw a big jump. In not can we just compete but we expect to compete and win against some traditional powers."

The seniors notched another win in their belts on Wednesday blowing out Willis 8-1 on senior night.

The win improved the seniors to 50-1-2 in district play, winning three district crowns in four years, and 78-11-5 overall with one more district and one regular season match left on the schedule.

"It means a lot, playing for this program has been so fun," Kingwood Park senior Allie Byrd said. "Obviously, all the successes have been really fun going through the last four years."

Byrd, who scored four goals on senior night, has been one of the key pieces to this senior class.

The North Texas signee now has 76 career goals, which puts her three goals behind Kobe McNutt (78) for sole possession of third-most goals in Kingwood Park history. Once past her, Brooke Harper's 96 goals would be next for second-most all-time.

"The last four years I've seen the seniors graduate and I was like that is never going to be me," Byrd said. "Now it's actually me it's a weird feeling."

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Kyle Tucker returns to Houston this weekend. Composite Getty Image.

Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.

The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.

The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.

On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.

Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.

It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.

The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.

How the mighty have fallen.

Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.

Screenshot via: MLB.com



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