District format change has Bulldogs looking to sweep Jarrell

The Burnet High School baseball team will begin an important week and can take a giant step toward the postseason if the Bulldogs can complete a three-game sweep of Jarrell on Tuesday and Friday, March 29 and April 1.

The Bulldogs (6-6-1, 3-2 District 19-4A) welcome the Eagles (5-7-2, 1-4) Tuesday at 4:30 p.m. to Bulldog Diamonds, 1000 The Green Mile, then travel to Jarrell, 1100 FM 487, Friday for a 7:30 p.m. first pitch. Burnet already beat Jarrell 2-1 on March 8.

District 19-4A members agreed to play each other three times during district play with the second and third games on the same week for a variety of reasons, Bulldogs head coach Russell Houston said.

“You’re not going to see somebody’s best pitcher, their No. 1, every time you play them,” he said. “(By playing each other three times), there’s not going to be any ties at the end of the year because you’ll have won two out of three times. For those teams that do qualify for the playoffs where you have to beat someone two out of three, you need that concept. It’s a big week for us this week.”

Burnet is looking to bounce back from a 9-4 loss to Lake Belton on March 25, a contest the Bulldogs led 3-1 going into the sixth inning.

But the Broncos (3-2) scored six runs in that inning with two outs, and two in the seventh while limiting Burnet to one run in the final inning.

“(In the sixth inning) we got into trouble,” Houston said. “They got a two-out hit, and we couldn’t come back. We came back in the bottom of the sixth (with some hits). If we could have scored a couple of runs there, I think we could have been (in better position for a comeback).”

The Bulldogs had more hits, 11, and base runners than Lake Belton, which had seven hits.

“We just didn’t get the hits with runners on base,” Houston said. “All our hits came with nobody on base. I thought we played really well for the most part. We were pitching really great until the sixth inning. They found a way to tie it up and then they made some plays, and we couldn’t stop the momentum they had.”

Despite back-to-back losses to Lake Belton and to Taylor 10-2 on March 22, Houston remains upbeat about district play. Both Salado and Taylor are atop of the standings at 4-1, followed by Burnet and Lake Belton at 3-2, Jarrell at 4-1, and Georgetown Gateway at 0-5.

“I feel like we competed really well,” he said. “I love our kids to death. They’ll go and compete and fight. We’re 3-2 and one game out of first place. I’m excited that we’re going to fight and find a way to get in (the postseason).”

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