Burnet baseball beat Fredericksburg in season opener
The Burnet High School baseball team defeated Fredericksburg 6-3 Feb. 19 in the season opener.
The Bulldogs (1-0) scored a run in the first inning only to see the Billies plate two in their half of the inning. But in the fourth, Burnet scored two runs, added another in the fifth, and two more in the sixth. Meanwhile, Fredericksburg scored a run in the fifth.
Trey Morrow and Trent Park each hit doubles with Park and Colt Stanford each recording a RBI. Dash Denton led with 2 hits. Noah Crawford was credited with 2 runs scored. The other runs were scored by Gilbert Valdez, Will Johnson, Kade Shaw and Park.
“Getting Noah Crawford back is just huge for us,” head coach Russell Houston said. “All those kiddoes played a lot last year. Park had a big hit for us. We left a lot of runners. It’s early. They were trying too hard. They were pressing too much.”
Pitcher Denton (1-0) earned the win thanks to allowing 3 earned runs off 6 hits, 3 walks and 2 strikeouts in five innings. Cason O’Hair took over in the final two innings and had 2 strikeouts.
“Dash pitched really well,” Houston said. “He was our most consistent pitcher. I think he’s one of our go-to guys.”
Other pitchers include Cooper Faris, Matthew Valdez and Shaw.
“I think when you have that many arms, it allows you to do different things,” Houston said. “If you have options, you can go to different players. You can change the look of the team on the mound.”
The coach was equally enthusiastic about Khris Kassner, Alex Cantrill and Stanford, players making their varsity debuts.
Cantrill is behind the plate, replacing graduate Tanner O’Hair.
“That’s probably our biggest replacement we had to have from last year,” Houston said. “Finding a guy who can do that is important. We have more answers than questions.”
Houston noted he was pleased with what he saw from his Bulldogs, adding they’ve made the most of their pre-season training and showed some of that during the win.
He pointed out that the Bulldogs have a couple of factors that help. First, Burnet has at least won a share of the district titles in football, cross country and boys basketball, and the baseball players want to keep that streak going. Second, the season may not come down to which roster has more natural talent; it could come down to which squad is better able to navigate the ebb and flow of a season.
“I do have a lot of kiddoes back who are hungry,” he said. “Round one (bi-district series loss to Salado in 2023) left a sour taste. Why not us? Let’s go beat them and work hard, which is good. They have to have a little bit of that confidence to be successful. That killer instinct is starting to evolve with this group of kiddoes. I think we’re starting to figure it out.”
Houston said he believes the District 24-4A members have a mix of strengths. Lago Vista “is going to have a lot of arms,” while Jarrell “has one or two pitchers.” The district members have agreed to play each other three times like they did a year ago. That means each member will play 15 district contests.
“Everything is going to be handled on the field,” he said. “There’s not going to be ties. You have to go take care of your responsibilities, you have a good chance to get in the playoffs and getting hot at the right time. There’s going to be a team that surprises people. They’re going to get hot at the right time. If we go play to our abilities, I think we’ll have a shot at it. You have to get through all tournament season and stay healthy.”
The coach added the Bulldogs have displayed a trait that takes time to develop, but when players have it, their ability to accomplish the extraordinary is limitless.
“Mental toughness,” he said. “If your kids have it, you’re fortunate as a coach. In basketball, our kiddoes worked really hard. They decided they weren’t going to let (not qualifying for the playoffs) happen again. Disappointment — it’s hard to get away from it. I think 100 percent of that (for my team). They just don’t want to lose. They play with that mentality. I do think there are things to build on. I do think every sport is different. Once things get rolling, it tends to keep going. I think success builds success.”
Burnet will compete in the 37th annual Fredericksburg Eberle-Boeck Memorial Tournament Thursday-Saturday, Feb. 22-24. Burnet faces Austin Regents at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 22, Llano at 11:30 a.m. and Big Spring at 4:30 p.m., both on Feb. 23, and Austin McCallum at 11:30 a.m. Feb. 24.
Watch videos on Highland Lakes sports by going to Fierro’s YouTube channel and searching for The Broad Podcaster. Please like, subscribe and share.
