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Now that they’re back in the familiar territory of post-first-round competition, the Tigers will try to scale the mountain.
Playing on the second weekend of the state baseball playoffs for the first time in three years, Belton will open a best-of-three Class 5A area series against No. 8-ranked Klein at 7 p.m. today at Tiger Field.
The Tigers (26-5) - District 13-5A runners-up - bounced back from an opening 16-7 loss to beat Pflugerville 2-1, 4-2 in last week’s bi-district round. The Bearkats (23-4) were the 16-5A champions and swept past Conroe Oak Ridge in the opening round.
It was 16-5A teams that ended Belton’s season in three of the past four years. First it was Tomball in the 2004 area round, then Klein Collins in the ’05 Region II quarterfinals and Klein (by scores of 10-0 and 8-3) in the first round in ’06.
So it’s a steep climb the Tigers face but not an uncharted one. Just ask Belton coach David Tidwell, who has seen the view from the summit.
“Belton has been here before,” said the longtime Tigers coach, who has guided them to 18 playoff trips in 20 years. “We’ve played great teams where people said we didn’t have a chance.
“They said, ‘Just tip your hats to them and move aside.’ Then what happens is they tip their hats to us, and we move on.”
Tidwell is hoping to rekindle some of the magic that carried the Tigers to the 4A state title in 1994 and the regional finals in 2002.
“These kids haven’t been here before but I have,” Tidwell said. “I want them to understand that Belton kids have stood where they stand now, and they’ve come out on top.”
The series gets under way with a matchup of pitchers who have just one loss between them.
The Tigers will start senior right-hander Jacob Phillipe (7-0), whose sliding fastball has been at its most effective of late.
After the Game 1 debacle last Friday night, Phillipe took to the mound 30 minutes later and pitched a three-hitter with 10 strikeouts in Game 2. He followed that the next day with 2 2/3 innings of hitless relief to notch the win in the finale.
“Jacob pitched a phenomenal game to keep us alive on Friday, then closed it out for us on Saturday,” Tidwell said. “That right there shows you what he can do.”
While Klein starter Matthew Purke (10-1) doesn’t have a spotless record, he’s far from a slouch. In fact, he’s one of the state’s top pitching prospects as an underclassman.
The 6-3 junior lefty - who has an 0.58 earned-run average - was a member of the USA Youth National Team that won gold at the 2006 Pan Am Games and part of last year’s USA Junior National Team that took bronze at the Pan American Championships.
“The people here Thursday night are going to see a great pitcher,” Tidwell said. “He has pumped it 94 (mph) most of the year, and he can pump it as high as 98 some times. We have a great challenge.
“But just like last week, after the way that first game went, I’m sure a lot of people didn’t give us much of a chance after that. But we got it done.
“How we do at the plate against their guy won’t be the only thing that determines this series. We’ve always stressed pitching and defense, and those two things win so many games in the playoffs.”
The series will continue with Game 2 at noon Saturday at Klein. If necessary, a third game would immediately follow.
The Bearkats’ likely Game 2 starter will be 6-6 senior right-hander Kevin Sirchia (5-1).
The Tigers plan to start sophomore righty Dillon Newman (9-1) in the second game, if he’s able.
Newman, who worked 6 1/3 innings for a no-decision in last week’s opener, suffered a broken bone in his non-throwing hand in Game 3 of that series. Batting with the bases loaded and the score tied in the top of the seventh, he was hit with a pitch from Pflugerville’s Kenneth Stockton.
“It actually won us the game because it forced in the winning run,” Tidwell said. “We took him to a specialist, and the doctor said to play as much as you can with the pain.
“Our trainers are putting a cast on it so that he can wear it in his glove. I don’t think he can swing the bat, but I think he’s going to be able to pitch.”
NOTES: Belton’s probable Game 3 starter would be junior side-armer Nick Wright (7-4). . . . The series winner will advance to the Region II quarterfinals to face the winner of the three-game series between Georgetown (25-8) and Klein Collins (22-7).
edrennan@temple-telegram.com