Pearland diamondmen headed back to state with unfinished business
June 4, 2024
So far -- the Oilers have accomplished every goal to this point as the beat a very good Cy-Fair squad to win the Region III crown and punch their ticket back to the 6A state tournament.
And it just so happens that the Oilers will face defending state champion Flower Mound (40-5) in the 6A state semifinals instead of the title game. So, the table is set on Friday, June 7 at 4:00 p.m. at Dell Diamond Stadium -- Home of the Round Rock Express - Triple-A Minor League Baseball affiliate of the Texas Rangers.
Pearland head coach David Rogers has done an outstanding job of building one of the top high school teams in the state.
The Oilers will enter the 6A state tournament with a 36-8-2 mark and are 10-3 in the postseason this year. The pitching staff has pitched five shutouts.
The other teams in the 6A state tournament will be Tomball (39-3) vs. San Antonio Johnson (33-11) who will meet in the other semifinal matchup on Friday, June 7 at 7:00 p.m.
The road to state was challenging for the Oilers as they swept Clear Brook 2-0 in the opening best-of-three series round. Things got more competitive as the Oilers lost one game in each of the next three best-of-three series.
Pearland beat Atascocita 1-0 (10 innings) and 6-0 after dropping the series opener 2-0 to advance to face Spring Branch Memorial.
The Oilers won that series 2-1 as they took the opener 4-3 behind the pitching of Jake Mader-Cooper and then dropped the second game 3-1 to force a third game. Junior All-State pitcher Nico Partida left his shortstop position to take the mound, struck out 11 while allowing only three hits in an 8-1 win.
Pearland advanced to the regional finals where they came up short in Game 1 in the best-of-three series to the Cy-Fair Bobcats 5-2. With their backs against the wall again, the Oilers shutout the Bobcats 3-0 in Game 2 behind a sterling pitching effort by southpaw Jaden Barfield.
That set up a Game 3 showdown with the winner advancing to the state tournament. Once again, coach Rogers called on Partida, who struck out 11, to lead the Oilers to a 5-1 victory and a berth in the state tourney.
Partida said in a recent interview, “I was going to try to pound fastballs for strikes, but every single time they were jumping on it, so I had to mix in the curve a lot,” Partida said.
“This time last year we were hot going to Round Rock, but we’re more prepared this season because we’ve been there. We know the bitter taste of losing, and we’re going there to win. No mercy.”
While the Oilers have a very talented squad with a deep pitching staff -- the key to this team has been their solid commitment to one another. What happens to each of them happens to all of them as they are bonded together.
The Oilers will enter the state semifinal contest against Flower Mound with a strong pitching staff and-an aggressive offense to go with a stingy defense.
Rogers said in summation of winning the Region III title and beating Cy-Fair, “There are some great teams in Region III and there are great baseball teams around the state, but I think the toughest road to get there is out of this region.
“Everybody is going to say what a great performance Nico had against Cy-Fair, and you can’t discount that. It was amazing. But Danny Ontiveros came up and got some great RBIs for us. Cade Adams handled the staff. Pinch runners did a great job. It was a full-out effort by the guys.”
Pearland has won state just one time in its six previous appearances, that coming in 1980. So, the Oilers are excited about returning again this year. Hopefully with different results.
