Oilers sweep Katy to advance to 5A Region III finals

June 1, 2009

   

KATY — It has been 25 years since the Pearland Oilers last appeared in the Region III finals. When one looks closely at this year's team -- there seems to be several scenarios that could make the Oilers a "Team of Destiny" to advance to the 5A state baseball tournament.

  

Could it be that head coach Ben Pardo wears No. 25 on his uniform? Or could it be that senior Reece Riddle, who is having an incredible performance in the playoffs, has been reminded that his dad, Larry Riddle, was on the 1980 Pearland baseball team that won a state championship?

  

Or could the incredible run be attributed to the Kelly and Kyle Cross connection -- with implications that their last name is influenced by a higher power?

  

No matter what various thoughts have been expressed concerning this year's Pearland baseball team -- the Oilers are in the 5A Region III finals and are one series away from following the Pearland Lady Oilers to the state tournament. The Lady O's will be in Austin on Friday, June 5 to face Cedar Park Vista Ridge in the state semifinals. A win sends them to the state finals on Saturday, June 6.

  

However -- the Oilers have one more opponent -- former District 24-5A foe Brazoswood -- who knocked off No. 1 Bellaire to also reach the finals.

  

As fate would have it - the Pearland girls faced a 24-5 foe in Clear Creek and swept the Lady Wildcats in their best-of-three series.

  

Beginning on Thursday, June 4, Pearland and Brazoswood will renew their rivalry at UH's Cougar Field at 8:00 p.m. The second game will be on Saturday, June 6 at 4:00 p.m. at UH. A third game (if necessary) will follow 30 minutes after the second game.

  

Many thought that Katy was heavily favored because of their outstanding pitching staff, but most experts didn't consider the outstanding hitting that the Oilers have displayed throughout the playoffs.

  

While most consider that great pitching trumps strong hitting -- while in theory that may be true -- the Oilers are proving that they have such potent offensive weapons that they will eventually wear down even the best pitcher that a team has to offer.

  

The Oilers offense has rolled all post-season and, though it took longer than they would have liked, it exploded again as Pearland pounded out four 10th-inning runs then hung on for dear life to outlast Katy 11-9 on Thursday at Katy High School.

  

Riddle proved to be one of the offensive stars in game one as he led the offensive onslaught for the Oilers, going 3-for-6 with three doubles and five RBIs.

"He did an unbelievable job," head coach Ben Pardo said. "He keeps getting better and better. He takes a great approach at the plate and he’s zoned in. He was huge for us at the plate."

    

Pearland scored two runs in the top of the first for a 2-0 lead, but Katy got five runs on five hits in the bottom of the first for a 5-2 lead.

    

The Oilers added a run in the top of the third, but the Tigers added two more in the bottom of the  fourth for a comfortable 7-3 advantage.

    

But Pearland wasn't going to go away as they plated four runs in the top of the sixth inning to tie up the game 7-7.

    

A three-run bases loaded double by Drew Dekerlegand plated Kelly Cross, Nick Trapp, and Stephen Shorkey. Dekerlegand scored on a single by Josh Gonzales.

    

The game moved into extra innings as Pearland finally broke the 7-7 tie with four clutch runs in the top of the 10th inning.

    

Dekerlegand led off with his second double and moved to third on a one-out single by Kevin Miller. Seth Dornak struck out, but Riddle delivered two-run scoring double for a 9-7 lead. Kelly Cross singled to send Riddle across the plate. Cross scored on a triple by Trapp to make the score 11-7.

    

Katy scored two runs, but came up short 11-9 as the Oilers took the first game.

Pearland 6 - Katy 3

    

The Oilers (27-9) swept the best-of-three semifinal series and move on to play Brazoswood in this week’s regional final.

Offensive power has been a Pearland mainstay throughout the playoffs. On Friday, the Oilers relied equally on pitching and defense.

    

The Cross connection did the heavy lifting for Pearland. Pitcher Kyle Cross limited Katy to four hits through six innings, while brother Kelly handled the catching and contributed a two-run home run.

Pearland scored in five of their six at bats to build a lead that was never in doubt. The lone blank came in the second, when the Oilers left the bases loaded.

    

Eight of Pearland’s starting nine recorded hits. Kelly Cross, Drew DeKerlegand, Josh Gonzales, Seth Dornak, and Reece Riddle each had a pair of hits.

“Kelly carried us tonight,” Oilers coach Ben Pardo said. “We try to be as offensive as we can be. But the name of the game is doing a good job on the mound and playing defense.

“I feel like we’ve been good defensively, good on the mound and a little better than good at the plate. If we can keep all three of those things going, I think we’re going to have a great chance at this thing.”

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