Troy versus Salado at UMHB: A true CenTex classic in the making

When you talk of high school baseball in Central Texas, Troy and Salado always come up in conversation. But in the past couple of seasons, the Trojans and Eagles have played some great games. Both against each other and against some of the best teams in the Texas Class 2A.

The epicenter of the Class 2A Central Texas landscape as the two powerhouses will play in a one-game, winner-takes-all Region 3 Final at UMHB's Red Murff Field on Friday at 7:00 p.m. The winner earns a spot at the Class 2A State Semi-finals in Austin next week. The game will be broadcast locally on KTEM-AM 1400 , starting at 7:15pm Friday night. The Murff has played home to some great ballgames over the past few seasons, but few have had so much on the line as this one.

The Trojans come into the ballgame with a 28-9 record overall and a District 21-2A Championship in tow. Coach Steve Sebesta's Trojans have rolled through the playoffs with a 8-2 record. In the bi-district round, they swept Little River-Academy 6-2 and 7-0. In the area round, they swept Centerville 6-1 and 10-7. In the regional quarterfinals, they split the series opening doubleheader with former Belton Tiger Keith Klaus' Rogers Eagles, winning 11-4 and losing 11-5. They beat the Eagles at the Murff 10-2 to move on to the Regional semi-finals. They lost the series opener to Garrison 6-2 in College Station last Friday night. They bounced back for a 7-4 and 10-6 two-game sweep Saturday to bid their way into the Region III Finals.

Chad Krempin's Salado Eagles squad made its way to the Region III Finals with a 28-8-1 overall record and 12-2 District 22-2A record, finishing second behind Rogers. Going into the playoffs with an eight-game winning streak, Salado swept the Crawford Pirates 6-3 and 9-1 in the bi-district round. In the rarea round, the Teague Lions knocked off the Eagles 4-3 in game one to end Salado's 10-game winning streak. Since that loss, Salado has been on a tear. They beat the Lions 11-1 and 10-0 to dispatch the Lions, swept the Clifton Cubs in the regional quarterfinal round 5-0 at the Murff and 4-0 in Waco and then swept the Nacogdoches Central Heights Blue Devils in the regional semifinals 11-2 and 11-1 last weekend in Franklin. Chase Basham ended that series with a walk-off, two-run homer, capping his two homer, five-RBI game.

The winner of the game will take on the winner of the Region I Final between Holliday and Wall, scheduled to be played on Saturday.

The Region 2 Final will be between Sunnyvale and Grandview and the Region 4 Final will be between Bishop and East Bernard.