Navarro – The Panthers meet Canyon Lake in the 4A Region IV quarterfinals, with every game in the best-of-three series to be played at the North East Sports Park (12001 Wetmore Rd.) in San Antonio.
The first two games are slated for Thursday and Friday, with Game 3 on Saturday if necessary. Each game in the series starts at 4:30 p.m., and will air live on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com. Pre-game coverage on Thursday is set for 4:15.
Navarro takes a 29-3 record and an 18-game winning streak into the series after securing the District 27-4A championship in the regular season and sweeping through the first two playoff rounds. The Panthers dispatched Fredericksburg 3-1 and 4-1 in bi-district play, then took care of Port Lavaca-Calhoun 11-0 and 8-5 in the area round.
In Kris Cavazos’ third season as head coach, Navarro is in the regional quarterfinals for the first time since 2017.
Canyon Lake, coached by Victor Escamilla, enters the third round of the playoffs with a 26-7 overall record and a 12-game winning streak after claiming the District 28-4A title and advancing through bi-district and area round play with four straight wins. The Hawks swept Gonzales 13-1 and 13-2 in the first round, and did the same to Needville 11-3 and 4-0 last week.
Navarro has received strong pitching performances from starters Bryce Nall, Jaxen Monkerud, and Will Boswell in the playoffs, with Hunter Monroe, Sam Muniga, and Mark Wozniak providing relief out of the bullpen.
Monkerud is 11-0 this season with a 2.07 ERA and 78 strikeouts in 57 innings. Nall enters the series with a 9-1 mark, a 0.76 ERA, and 45 strikeouts in 55 innings. Boswell moved his record to 5-0 and lowered his ERA to 2.41 with the Thursday win over Calhoun last week.
The Panthers’ offensive leaders include Tristan Brashears with a .467 average and nine doubles, Monkerud with a .446 average, four triples, and 28 RBIs, Mark Wozniak with a team-high 30 RBIs, Sam Muniga with 41 runs scored, and Reece Rojas with a .545 on-base percentage.
Tyler Pauley was Canyon Lake’s Game 1 starting pitcher in the first two playoff series. The senior right hander allowed four runs (three earned) on 10 hits with 15 strikeouts and three walks over the course of 11 innings in the two wins.
The Hawks received complete-game wins from junior right hander Tanner Schultz in the series clinchers against Gonzales and Needville. He surrendered three runs on eight hits in 12 innings with seven strikeouts and five walks in those games.
Canyon Lake has launched five home runs in four playoff games – three by Griffin Williams and one apiece by Schultze and Ty Sellers. Williams enters the Navarro series with 11 post-season RBIs.
Marion – The Bulldogs face Hallettsville in the 3A regional quarterfinals, with the teams trading hosting rights for the first two games in the best-of-three series.
Game 1 is slated for 7 p.m. Thursday in Marion, Game 2 for 7 p.m. Friday in Hallettsville. If the series goes to a third game, the Bulldogs and Brahmas square off at the North East Sports Park in San Antonio on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Marion is 25-7 in Tim Tesch’s seventh season as head coach. The Bulldogs won the District 26-3A championship to finish the regular season, swept Comfort 12-0 and 14-0 in the bi-district playoffs, and edged Columbus in three games to survive the area round last week. Marion won the first game 2-1, the Cardinals snapped the Bulldogs’ 14-game winning streak 2-1 in Game 2, but Marion clinched the series with an 8-3 triumph in Game 3.
Hallettsville is 17-10 under first-year head and former Texas Lutheran standout Mason Briscoe. The Brahmas went 10-4 in District 28-4A to finish second behind Yoakum. After a 13-6 win over Poth in bi-district play, Hallettsville edged Blanco in a best-of-three area playoff series last week with an 8-6 win in Game 1, a 9-8 setback in Game 2, and a 4-2 win in Game 3.
If the series goes to a third game on Saturday, it will air live on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com.