HS Baseball Playoffs: History Made as Conroe Advances for First Time since 1997

SPRING, TX -- The Conroe Tigers advanced in the playoffs for the first time since 1997 following their 7-0 win over the District Champion Aldine Mustangs on Monday afternoon to clinch the three-game series.

Following the doubleheader on Saturday that split the series at one game apiece, both teams returned to Grand Oaks High School to determine who would advance and whose season would end.

Both teams took to the field and played with matched intensity. Both sides' fielding was top-notch, and the pitchers played solid games through the early at-bats.

Owen Raymer started on the mound for the Tigers, reappearing in a role he had flourished in during the regular season. But even with his composure on the mound, the Mustangs managed to get multiple runners on base in the second and third innings.

Aldine’s approach of hitting soundly as opposed to hitting for distance worked in getting runners into scoring position in the second inning with none out. Luckily for Conroe, their fielders were on top of it.

Multiple fielders’ choice outs snagged Mustang lead runners before they could reach base. A tag-out at second and a narrow out at home left Aldine deflated and without runs, leaving the second, and a critical double play in the third continued the Tiger shutout.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Conroe Head Coach Jeff Raymer discussed the team’s defensive approach under the intense environment.

“When we have Owen [Raymer] on the mound, we know that we have to play great defense,” said Raymer. “They go out and they trust themselves and they trust the practice they’ve put in. And because of that, we were able to go out and make some plays.”

Conroe saw an opportunity to strike with the defense playing well and decided to get aggressive on the base path during their plate appearances.

Players like Gunnar Pabst were inserted early in the game to pinch run. The extra speed on the base path was good in catching the Mustang fielders in a haze, but issues in communication left a handful of Tiger runners in no-man’s land for easy outs.

“We knew with the wind playing the way it was, it was going to be hard to get extra base hits,” explained Raymer. “So we were trying to utilize our running game to get guys into scoring position. We kind of pushed the issues a little bit, and tip the cap to Aldine, they made some plays on us.”

Acrobatic plays in the field for both teams worked in tandem with the sound pitching to leave the game scoreless heading into the top of the fifth, with the bottom of Conroe’s lineup up to bat.

A lead-off fly-put looked damaging initially, but a walk drawn by Jake Matthew got the gears turning for the Tigers. Another out nearly sank the trip to first, but a timely hit into the outfield from Jaden Keith brought a sprinting Matthew home for the first run of the game.

Matthew’s solo run finally broke the scoreless tie while igniting the Conroe fans who had taken time out of their Monday to support the potential history-makers. In addition to the fans in attendance, murmurs of students and teachers watching from the Conroe campus lit a passionate fire in the stands as the black and gold brigade returned to defense up 1-0.

Despite the wear and tear of pitching four lengthy innings, Raymer returned to the mound with a support system behind him that kept the Mustangs from getting on the board.

Doubling in the lead-off spot immediately jeopardized the light Tiger lead, but composure from the Conroe defense prevailed in the tight spot. Raymer’s first strikeout of the game came at the perfect time to spark a defensive push that stranded two Aldine runners on base.

More hitting from the Conroe lineup lit up the sixth inning for the strongest scoring performance by either team in the series. Ed Rothlader started the party by doubling in his lead-off spot before a walk led to the first of three pitching changes for the Mustangs during the top of the sixth.

A prolonged series of bunts from the Tigers and walks issued by the Aldine pitchers led to Conroe extending their lead by six runs on just two hits.

One of the hits came from Tanner Trantham, who sent an outfield line drive to bring in a two-run RBI that punctuated the Conroe onslaught that ended the top of the inning with a 7-0 lead.

“We were just making sure that our guys didn’t change their approach at the plate,” said Raymer. “Whenever you start changing pitchers, you can work out of the zone a little bit and try to do too much. But just keeping them focused on doing what we teach them to do every time.”

With a seven-run cushion on their side, the Tigers had a comfortable lead going against an Aldine team that started to show signs of defeat with six outs and an inning and a half remaining.

Conroe sat down the Mustang bats in order in the bottom of the sixth, and desperate ploys of sending in pinch-hitters tried to keep the comeback alive in the bottom of the seventh.

However, a lone single was all the Mustangs could muster in the bottom of the seventh against another sound fielding performance from Conroe. Multiple fly-outs signaled the end for Aldine, and flying gloves in the infield celebrated the hard-fought 7-0 win for the Tigers and an overall series victory.

The jumping and screaming players and fans made sense given the history that had been made in breaking the lengthy postseason drought for the Conroe baseball program.

“Conroe hasn’t made the playoffs since 2007. So when we made the playoffs, it was a big deal,” said Raymer. “But they hadn’t won a playoff game since 1998 and they hadn’t advanced in the playoffs since 1997, which is when I graduated high school, which I know was a long time ago.”

But with the history made, the mindset of the squad was to simply perform and execute the only way they knew how.

“To have a team that doesn’t carry that history with them and just goes out the play the game, that allows us to come out and advance to the next round,” said Raymer. “They love each other, they trust each other, and they play for each other. That makes me really proud.”

Next on the schedule for Conroe is the Area Round and the Klein Collins Tigers. With a shortened period between series, Coach Raymer and the rest of the coaching staff will have to quickly shift gears.

“It’ll be a balance between celebrating our advance to the next round, but understanding that it only means you get to keep playing baseball,” said Raymer. “We have to shift our focus as soon as we get on that bus ride home.”

Details for the Conroe baseball matchup can be found on the team’s official social media accounts, as well as on The Woodlands Online Sports.