2019 VYPE Lacrosse Preview

The Woodlands, Klein lead boys lacrosse in resurgent Houston

VYPE Staff
Jan 23, 2019, 9:35 pm
After over a decade, Houston is back on the lacrosse state map. Via Vype

Originally Appeared on Vype

TOP BOYS PROGRAMS

DI

  1. The Woodlands Highlanders
  2. St. John's Mavs
  3. Kingwood Mustangs
  4. Kinkaid Falcons
  5. Memorial Mustangs

DII

  1. Klein Bearkats
  2. Langham Creek Lobos
  3. The Woodlands DII
  4. Atascocita Eagles
  5. Stratford Spartans

After over a decade, Houston is back on the lacrosse state map.

The Woodlands carried the torch for Houston-area lacrosse and finally took down Dallas to win the 2018 state title.

"I think I received over 250 text messages from people I've never met before congratulating us for representing Houston," The Woodlands coach Keith Tindle said. "We battle each other during the regular season, but we felt like everyone was on our side going into the state tournament.

"The support was tremendous."

The Highlanders graduated 16 seniors and several went on to play in the college ranks. The team left a huge legacy but also a giant target on the program's back.

"We aren't creeping up on anybody this year," Tindle said. "There are pros and cons to being the hunted versus the hunter. The break- through took a lot of time and we went through so much adversity, but it was worth it. Now, we go back to work."

The storybook ending for the Highlanders went like this ... The Class of 2018 lost in the state finals as freshmen on the same field in Austin.

"It was surreal that we won it on the same field that eight of those guys lost on four years earlier," Tindle said. "Then we went through the toughest draw, having to beat three Dallas-area teams. We were also coming off Hurricane Harvey that set everyone back. It couldn't have been a better time for us to win it."

Coaches would say that winning a state title validates their program like nothing else.

It makes going to practice and workouts easier, and the coach's voice can be heard louder and clearer.


The preview continues here

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Houston can win series on Sunday

Timely hitting helps Astros edge out D-backs to even series

Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images

The Astros had two losses over the last 24 hours; one a game against the Diamondbacks in the series opener on Friday night, the other the news that their recovering ace, Justin Verlander, announced Saturday afternoon that he is opting to undergo Tommy John surgery. The decision and surgery will likely sideline Verlander through 2021 when his current contract with Houston ends.

With that, the Astros headwinds continued to increase, meaning a win to even the series with Arizona on Saturday would be a much-needed pick-me-up. Here's how they did:

Final Score: Astros 3, Diamondbacks 2.

Record: 26-26, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Enoli Paredes (3-2, 2.84 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Luke Weaver (1-8, 6.51 ERA).

D-backs score two on Javier who is pulled early

Kole Calhoun, who drove in four runs, including a home run in Friday's game, would start the scoring on Saturday with a solo home run off of Cristian Javier in the top of the second, giving Arizona an early 1-0 lead. Javier allowed another run in the top of the third, giving up a leadoff single that would move to third on a groundout then score on a sac fly, doubling the lead to 2-0.

Javier finished the third and tossed a 1-2-3 fourth, but whether it be due to a pre-determined pitch count or other situation, he would not go any further, ending his night there on just 77 pitches. His final line: 4.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 6 K, 1 HR, 77 P.

Astros grab a lead in the sixth

The Astros were able to cut the lead in half in the bottom of the third, getting a leadoff single by Josh Reddick, who would move to third after a walk and fielder's choice before scoring on an RBI-groundout by Jose Altuve, making it 2-1. Enoli Paredes was first out of Houston's bullpen, taking over for Javier in the top of the fifth and retiring six straight batters for two perfect frames.

Houston would get to Luke Weaver in the bottom of the sixth, getting a leadoff single by George Springer, who would score from first on an RBI-double by Altuve to tie the game. Altuve would come around as the go-ahead run later in the inning on an RBI-single by Kyle Tucker, knocking Weaver out of the game as the Astros took their first lead of the game, 3-2.

Houston evens the series and moves back up to .500

Josh James was the next reliever for Houston in the top of the seventh, and despite getting into a jam by issuing a one-out walk and hitting the next batter, he was able to get out of it. It was thanks to a great play by Michael Brantley, who started a double play by catching a lineout and throwing a runner out at second to end the inning.

Brooks Raley had the eighth and erased a one-out walk by retiring the next two batters to maintain the one-run lead. After a scoreless bottom of the eighth, the Astros turned to closer Ryan Pressly to get another save and finish the one-run game. Pressly would do so, as Houston would move back up to .500 and even the series 1-1 heading into the rubber game on Sunday.

Up Next: The finale of this series between Houston and Arizona, and Houston's last regular-season home game of 2020, will get underway at 1:10 PM Central on Sunday. Madison Bumgarner (0-4, 8.53) ERA will be on the mound for the D-backs, while Jose Urquidy (1-1, 2.70 ERA) will start for the Astros.

astros recap d-backs recap astros vs diamondbacks mlb mlb recap mlb game recap cristian javier justin verlander injury michael brantley astros

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