12/30/2009

17-5A - TIGERS MUST RELOAD IN A HURRY
BY RANDY BYERS - (c) COPYRIGHT 2009 Houston5ABaseball.com
 

The Katy Tigers won another District Championship in 2009,,, and the beat goes on.... However, 2010 may present one of Coach McPherson and Staff's toughest tasks in quite a few years.

Katy graduated one of their most talented classes again in 2009 if that's possible given the fact that they graduated stellar classes in 2006, 2007, & 2008. But the Tigers just seem to reload every year.

One thing that is different for Katy in the upcoming season; they lack that power arm that they are so well known for in past seasons. Keifer Nuncio will be difficult enough to replace but they also lost hard throwing Tyler Herr. What they do have are a couple of very crafty, very good, pitchers in Justin Cudd and Matt Locus. 

Another missing component for 2010 is the obvious power bat. Colt Atwood returns swinging at a .318 clip, and Justin Cudd did smack 5-HR in 2009, but the Tigers must find a way to replace the power of Jarred Fancher, and Andrew Stumph, A tall order indeed for Coach Mac and crew. In 2010, Katy must replace seven starters who were all very good players. 

But the Katy Tigers always seem to find a way to get it done and that's why they are a perennial power in High School Baseball year in and year out. Katy has fielded one of the most successful programs of the decade winning six district championships and making one appearance in Round Rock in the 2006, 5A Title Game vs The Woodlands. 

School Name & Team Mascot- Katy Tigers

 District- 17-5A

 Head Coach - Tom McPherson

 Assistant coaches - Mike Langan, Michael Barrow, Terry Jaimes

Previous season record (overall 25-9) (district 11-4) 17-5A Champions

Previous season play-off accomplishments-
Bi-District - Defeated Spring Woods in two games;
Area - defeated Westside in one game;
Regional Quarterfinals-Defeated Atascocita in three games;
Lost to Pearland in two games in the Regional Semi-finals

Graduated starters/Key losses-

Jarred Fancher (TCU); Andrew Stumph (Texas State); Keifer Nunico (University
of Texas); Parker Ray (Texas A & M); Tyler Herr (Minnesota Twins); Kyle Guillory (San
Jac ); Cale Hanson (Yale); Randy Picard (HBU); Ben Schmitt (Texas Lutheran); Haedan Thormaehlen (Tyler
Junior College); John Reeves (Lon Morris Junior College)

Returning Lettermen ( 3) & ( 3) Starters:           

*        Colt Atwood - ( Jr.) 1 year letterman - Outfielder
 1st Team All District Outfielder 2009 - hit .318 on the year.

 *        Justin Cudd - (Sr.) 2 year letterman & Starter - Pitcher/ Dh
1st Team All District 18 5A DH in 2008- Hit - .425 - with 5 hr's & 21  Rbi's

4 & 0 on the mound in 2008 with an ERA of 1.37 

2 & 2 with 3 saves in 2009 with an ERA of 3.370

*        Matt Locus - (Sr.) 2 year letterman - Pitcher / outfielder
2nd Team All District Pitcher 2009

6 & 0 with an ERA of 1.195

The rest of the Katy Tigers:

Seniors:

Josh Godfrey - pitcher / outfield; Daniel Gribble - 1st & DH; Nick Holt - shortstop; Travis Lewis - catcher / 1st ;  Charles Ormond - pitcher; Nathan Smego - Pitcher / DH; Cody Speice - 2nd baseman; Christian Thrash - outfield; Andy Vance -1st baseman

Juniors: 

Andrew Coker -DH/1st;   Keegan Sanford - outfielder; Dillon Mazzoccoli - pitcher / infield; Angel Montoya -outfielder; Kyle Thompson - pitcher / infield; Trenton Tschirhart - catcher; Will Wadas - outfield / DH

Sophomores:   

Bo Brown - Catcher / pitcher; Jordan Thompson - Outfielder; Dylan Gaffney - SS / 2nd / Pitcher; Cameron Friess - catcher / infield; Ryan Phillips - infield

From the dugout- "The Tigers have been working hard during the off season. We are very excited about the upcoming 2010 baseball season." - Tom McPherson

www.houston5abaseball.com 

2009-2010 Baseball Dates
January 29 - First day for practice.
February 8 - First day for interschool scrimmages.
February 22 - First day for interschool games.
May 4 - District certification deadline.
May 8 - Bi-district deadline.
May 15 - Area deadline.
May 22 - Regional quarterfinal deadline.
May 29 - Regional semi-final deadline.
June 5- Regional playoff deadline.
June 9-12 - State Tournament.