H.S. baseball: Abilene Wylie seeks better consistent play in postseason
When the Wylie baseball team has been good this season, it has been nearly unbeatable. Yet the Bulldogs have struggled at times.
Grant Martin, who is used to deep playoff runs as Wylie’s coach, knows it’s time for his Bulldogs (17-11-1) to step up as they head into their best-of-three Region I-5A series against Plainview (14-15-1).
Game 1 is 5 p.m. Thursday at Wylie, before the series wraps up in Plainview. Game 2 is 1 p.m. Saturday, and, if needed, Game 3 will follow.
“We have to be up at the beginning of the game, and we’ve got to play throughout,” Martin said.
It starts at the plate for the Bulldogs. They’ve scored 10 or more runs in 11 of their wins . When the offense goes silent, they’ve struggled to win.
Wylie went 0-5-1 in early March, averaging 2.3 runs per game in that stretch.
Then there was a four-game skid in district in early April, when the Bulldogs scored five total runs.
“I think in baseball in general, hitting is very contagious,” Martin said. “If one guy hits, the next guy hits, the next guy and so on. We’ve got to find a way to have that energy throughout the game.”
Wylie is no stranger to Plainview. This is the third consecutive meeting between the two Bulldogs programs in the first round. Wylie swept Plainview last year (10-3 and 11-7) and in 2021 (9-1 and 5-1).
This time around, Wylie goes into the series as the third seed from District 4-5A, while Plainview is the second seed from District 3-5A. Wylie was a district runner-up the previous two meetings.
“Coach (Brandon) Gilliand does a great job – he and his staff,” Martin said. “The kids are well-coached. They’re going to be in the game the entire time. I know the last couple of years, we’ve had to really play and be in it from the get-go to the very end.”
The Wylie/Plainview winner plays the El Paso Del Valle (19-7)/El Paso Chapin (7-23) winner in the second round next week.
Wylie has reached the region quarterfinals the past two years – losing to Aledo both times.
Wylie hasn’t lost a first-round playoff series since current district rival Lubbock-Cooper accomplished the feat in 2009 in what is now Class 4A.
And for a program that’s been to state eight times, including six times since 2002, this is the time of year when Wylie players step up in trying to uphold a deep tradition.
“Our kids want to keep playing,” Martin said. “We have a lot of them on the team who have experienced deep runs, and they know what it’s like. We have a lot of others who are excited about the opportunity. So, for us, obviously the name of the game is to continue to play, whatever it takes to win and advance.”
If Wylie’s is going to keep its season alive, it must bring its “A” game to the diamond each and every outing in the postseason.
“We talk to them about how this is a special time of year,” Martin said. “Not everybody is playing right now and not everybody gets the opportunity. And that’s what it is – it’s an opportunity in front of us to hopefully play well and advance. We know we have to play well.”
REGION I-5A BI-DISTRICT SERIES
Abilene Wylie vs. Plainview
Game 1: 5 p.m. Thursday, Wylie
Game 2: 1 p.m. Saturday, Plainview
Game 3: 30 minutes after Game 2, if needed
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene Wylie opens baseball playoffs against Plainview on Thursday
