HS Baseball Playoffs: Highlanders Shutout In Game One Loss to Hurricanes

TOMBALL, TX -- The Woodlands Highlanders lost their first game since March 7th in a 2-0 shutout against the Klein Cain Hurricanes to drop game one of their Area Round series.

Recent tears through district play and the Bi-District round had the Highlanders on a lengthy win streak that seemed impossible to end. But the same Hurricanes that handed The Woodlands its most recent loss were back to contend for the Area title in a heated defensive showdown.

Klein Cain broke the seal of a scoreless tie immediately upon stepping up to bat in the top of the first. A strong swing from lead-off batter Blaine Bullard got him around the bags for a triple before an infield error on a tag attempt let him come in for free.

For the Highlanders, loaded bats that have lifted the team to great heights throughout the regular season were surprisingly inconsistent against the Klein Cain defense.

Sly pitching from the Hurricanes’ Jackson Fontenette worked in tandem with the fast-moving fielders to keep the Highlander batters silent throughout the game.

Even with The Woodlands getting runners into scoring position in the first and second innings, they failed to bring them home due to flyouts or the occasional strikeout from Fontenette.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Highlander Head Coach Ron Eastman discussed the sudden hitting slump from the typically trustworthy batters.

“We didn’t get the hit when we needed it,” explained Eastman. “You’re not going to win too many games when you don’t score many runs. We just didn’t make them work very hard defensively.”

Another Bullard run in the top of the third from a Braden Cox RBI single pushed the Hurricane lead to 2-0, where it would remain in Klein Cain’s favor for the remainder of the night.

The usual fielding production from The Woodlands sought to make up for both runs, as both had been brought in or aided due to the total of three errors produced by the Highlanders.

Composure and steadfast execution from Erich Daigle and the rest of the Highlander defense saw the team battle through tough situations in multiple innings. The Woodlands defense faced Hurricane runners in scoring position in all but one innings, and only let in the two during the top of the first and third.

Klein Cain would remain shutout following their second run in the top of the third, but fleeting production from the Highlander bats meant the team was unable to make up the difference.

Just two runners in scoring position from the fifth to seventh innings were all the Highlander bats could produce against the Hurricane defense. A combined six strikeouts through the same stretch from Fontenette and Connor Haefele sank the hopes of bringing in potential ties or lead-changing runs.

“He’s good. He’s a high-80s guy with a really good slider. And when you have two good pitches in high school, you can compete really well,” said Eastman, discussing Fontenette. “He didn’t hurt himself by walking very many guys, but he was able to fill up the strike zone.”

Late attempts to force a comeback in the bottom of the seventh saw the insertion of Cruz Romo with two outs to push the envelope, and it looked like the right move following a deep shot and a ground rule double.

Unfortunately for The Woodlands, Klein Cain relied on Haefele to close out the game in one at-bat, striking out the last Highlander batter to complete the 2-0 combined shutout for the Hurricanes.

“The formula never changes in the playoffs,” said Eastman. “It's solid pitching, no beating yourself on defense, and timely hitting. They were able to come through with the runs when they needed, so hopefully we can turn that around tomorrow.”

The make-or-break game two for the Highlanders will be back at Tomball Memorial Field, with the opening pitch set for 7 P.M., permitting potential weather.

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