: FACTS
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Bay Area/Gulf Coast Baseball
Bay Area/Gulf Coast baseball an in depth overview
Original draft published on Houston5ABaseball.com with written permission; Revised
By Chris Cortez
Special to bwoodbucs.com
High school baseball's district 24-5A seeks to stake its claim as the powerhouse of the Southeast Houston/Galveston Metro/Brazoria County Region.
The communities representing Alvin, Brazoswood (Lake Jackson-Clute- Richwood), Clear Creek (League City), Clear Lake (Houston), and Pearland have all either been to or won the UIL State Baseball Tournament at one time or another.
Alvin's baseball program has seen a march to glory as the 1993 Region III champ and Texas Semifinalist (recently returning to the playoffs in 2004). Brazoswood finished as a 1979 Texas Semifinalist, and as the 1984 and 1992 Texas Champions. Clear Creek won the Texas Championship in 1991 and finished as a Texas Semifinalist in 1996. Clear Lake finished in the Texas "final four" in 1988. In turn, Pearland (under coach Bill Bratcher) won the 1980 Texas Championship, was the 1981 Texas Finalist, and a 1984 Texas Semifinalist.
Additionally, Brazoswood and Clear Creek have each had "near misses" at returning to state glory in recent years. Both schools have had recent playoff year shootouts with Fort Bend rival- Elkins, including Clear Creek in 2002 and the Bucs in 2003. B'wood took the state champions to the limit in the Region III Semifinal.
District 24-5A encompasses a dynamic portion of the Southeast Texas Gulf Coast Region. This area reaches north from the Clear Lake Bay Area, south towards Pearland and Alvin, east along Highway 6 to Galveston Island and the Gulf of Mexico, and southwest to the Brazosport Area.
The district boasts the NASA/Johnson Space Center, Ellington Field (home of the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group- the "Guardians of the Gulf Coast"), Clear Lake, Nassau and Galveston Bay, suburban Webster, historic League City, the tidy neighborhoods of Friendswood and Pearland, Galveston, and Alvin- the home of Nolan Ryan. Brazosport is where Texas began, where the first deep-water port was established, the home of Dow Chemical, and where the Republic of Texas' first capital was located near modern-day West Columbia. The Brazosport area is known for its diversity, rich history, and natural beauty.
The District also encompasses an area where six UIL State baseball titles, (Brazosport- 1964, 1966; Brazoswood- 1984, 1992; Clear Creek- 1991; Pearland- 1980) have been won.
In turn, Alvin and Brazoswood have been annual sports rivals since the 1980's and remain so today. It is difficult to be a District 24-5A resident without never meeting Nolan Ryan. I met the legend some years back at Alvin Junior High when Ryan had just been traded to the Texas Rangers. He was watching a family member playing at the Junior High in a basketball tourney. Coincidentally I had been wearing a Texas Rangers hat when I approached Mr. Ryan, who was in the gym stands with an old buddy. I approached Mr. Ryan and asked, "Mr. Ryan may I shake your hand?", to which he quickly smiled, shook my hand and replied, "That's a nice hat you got there." The experience though brief, was something never forgotten.
Nevertheless, Brazoswood and Creek have forged a powerful baseball rivalry, having fought various times against each other in postseason play over the last fifteen years. Led by great coaching on both sides...three of these memorable years include 1991, 2002, and 2005.
In 1991 Bill Poland's Bucs and Jim Mallory's Creek Wildcats fought against each other in the Region III Final. The Bucs had just beaten nationally-ranked Bellaire in the last series and drew a rematch against Creek. Creek itself boasted of a talent-laden team featuring pitcher Brendan Daly. The 1991 Region final went down to the final inning as Creek won that duel 1-0 (many that year termed it- "the mini-state championship") and went on to defeat Klein Oak 8-2 in the state final.
Thus, in 2002, third-place Brazoswood won its last six contests to claim the final postseason spot. The Bucs went on to advance all the way to the Region III Quarterfinals before falling to Creek in three heart-stopping games.
In the latest round of B'wood-Creek battles, 2005 came down to the wire. The season was indeed "a crawdad strangler", The playoff order did not play out until the Bucs traveled to League City in a typical fight to the finish battle. The game started with Josh Darnell robbing Kelly Schaefer of a potential three-run home run early in the game. Both teams displayed great skill, including key Creek hits by Logan Corbin, Jereme Brooks, and Norman Wittkamp. The Bucs countered with an offensive attack by Matt Vern, Dustin Damian, and Jake Fedorchak. The three hour game came down to the seventh where the Bucs loaded the bases and faced Creek ace Steven Trevino. The Bucs came razor close to tying the game but Creek held on and dealt the Bucs a 5-4 defeat. The latest battle was won by Creek but expect both teams to display some of the best baseball in the state every time they match up.
Creek and Brazoswood have traded places as Texas State Champions, Creek in 1991, and B'wood in 1992. Not since 1977 and 1978 (Sharpstown and Bellaire) had two different high schools representing the same district won back to back state titles at UIL's highest baseball classification.
Additionally, the district boasts of its history of players in professional baseball. Creek has had such notable players such as: Jay Buhner (Seattle Mariners), Jay's brother Shawn Buhner(Seattle), Mike Taylor, Chris Scarcella, Mark Grimes, Shad Smith, Derek Clifton and Cody Sundbeck (Arizona). Creek also has numerous alumni that has seen collegiate action including 2005 Baylor Bear- Mark McCormick.
Brazoswood boasts of notable stars such as James Jurries who plays for the "AAA" Richmond Braves and is a rising MLB prospect. The Bucs have also had: Troy Neel, Kevin Garner, Brad Lincoln, Clint Koppe, Carlos Sepulveda, Andy Cavazos, and Jesse Harper graduate to professional and minor league baseball teams. The Bucs also have graduated numerous college bound baseball players.
The other schools of District 24-5A have made incredible strides toward baseball improvement. Pearland is an annual playoff threat with a great fan base, Clear Creek ISD all made the playoffs in 2005, Galveston Ball's program is gaining momentum, Alvin always fights...
The future is indeed bright for the district schools, and the 2006 District 24-5A playoff reps are sure to fight to the finish as they do every year.
