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Regional Finals Preview: Keller baseball vs. Southlake Carroll
The Keller Indians and Southlake Carroll Dragons are set to face each other in the UIL Class 6A Region I Regional Finals. Not only do both teams have a fight that never dies, but the receipts to prove it. Let's take a look at how the teams got to this point.
Keller (32-6)
This season, the Indians jumped right in ready to show their opponents that they meant business. Despite an early loss in the season, Keller continued to fight for their place at the top. En route to playoffs, Keller won bigs games over the likes of Highland Park, McKinney, Arlington Martin V.R. Eaton, Timber Creek, Weatherford, and more.
The Indians have spent all playoffs eliminating team after team. First a sweep over El Paso Americas (8-0, 13-3) before finishing with the upper hand in a three-game series against V.R. Eaton (9-4, 1-2, 13-10). Last week, Keller won the Regional Semi-Finals over Coppell in three games (5-2, 5-6, 7-1) in order to advance to the Regional Finals against Southlake Carroll.
Keller has been known this season for coming out swinging and getting on the board quickly. The Indians have outscored their opponents by over 175 runs on the season so far, proving that their defense is just as poised as their offense. Fans should expect no less coming into the Regional Finals.
Southlake Carroll (28-16)
The Dragons had a much different start to their season than Keller did. Southlake Carroll started rough, but has been able to bounce back and prove themselves throughout the course of the season.
With a strong defense, Southlake Carroll has been able to post great wins against the likes of Flower Mound, Friendship, South Grand Prairie, Mansfield Legacy, and more. The Dragons defense has been able to hold their opponents to low runs throughout the season while the offense has really stepped up to the plate and taken their run scoring role seriously.
Fans will find that the Dragons are consistent throughout the games that they play. Getting on base early and doing what it takes to get home. It should be assumed that Southlake Carroll will focus their efforts on a strong Keller team in an attempt to repeat each series in the playoffs so far. In playoffs, the Dragons have taken down Paschal (3-0), El Paso Montwood (1-4, 10-0, 11-0), Odessa Permian (5-1, 2-3, 11-1), and Flower Mound Marcus (5-4, 9-0).
Previous Meetings
As district opponents, the Indians and Dragons have already seen each other on the diamond a handful of times this season. In a mid-March meeting, Southlake Carroll held Keller scoreless in a 3-0 Dragon win. In mid-April, Keller flipped the role and won a 7-4 match.
Seeing each other already while also playing the same opponents all season, it's going to be a heck of a showdown. Fans can expect to see a series unlike most in the Regional Finals.
Game 1 of the series between Keller and Southlake Carroll is set to begin Thursday at Dallas Baptist University with a first-pitch time of 7:30 p.m.
UIL Playoffs Regional Quarterfinals: 5 DFW Baseball Teams to Watch
After an exciting week of area-round UIL playoff baseball games, quite a few Dallas-Fort Worth area baseball teams have moved on to the Regional Quarterfinals on their quest to be the best in the state. With so much action happening between softball Regional Semi-Finals and baseball this week, we've got five DFW baseball teams you shouldn't take your eyes off of!
Keller
Keller has no quit. Taking on some of the best teams in the area- and winning- Keller finished first in their district with a 9-1 district record. The Indians have shown nearly flawless defense while holding opponents to only 76 runs all season and stellar offense while scoring 237 runs of their own on the season. Keller is a force to be reckoned with in DFW-area baseball and you can expect the same to hold true in the next round of play.
Last week, Keller topped El Paso Americas in the area-round in just two games. With a 13-3 win in Game 1 and a 8-0 shut-out win in Game 2, the Indians forged their way to the next round in UIL baseball playoffs. Keller will face off against Northwest Eaton in the Regional Quarterfinals- a district rival that they have already seen (and beat) twice so far this season. In March, the Indians defeated Eaton 13-3 before defeating them again in April by a score of 11-5.
Keller's Regional Quarterfinal series against Northwest Eaton is set to begin 6:00 pm Thursday at Denton Guyer.
Southlake Carroll
The Dragons have spent all season adding on to their legacy of being a dominant force when it comes to DFW-area baseball. With a 24-15 overall record, Southlake Carroll has defeated the likes of Flower Mound, South Grand Prairie, Mansfield Legacy, and more en route to the UIL playoffs. It should come as no surprise that they've reached the Regional Quarterfinals knowing the strength Southlake Carroll possess both offensively as well as defensively.
Last week, the Dragons dropped Game 1 in a three-game playoff series against El Paso Montwood, but it didn't hold them back. In true Southlake Carroll fashion, the loss fueled their desire to win as they posted back-to-back shutouts in Games 2 and 3 (10-0, 11-0) to take the series 2-1 and advance.
Southlake Carroll is set to face Odessa Permian in a series that begins 7:30 p.m. Friday at Lubbock Cooper.
Rockwall-Heath
Holding true to a reputation of consistency, we see the Rockwall-Heath Hawks continue to forge their way deeper into the playoffs. The path to the playoffs didn't come easily for the Hawks, but they have shown a spirit of never giving up with amazing team chemistry paired with the ability to score early and often. The Hawks can be expected to remain consistent through the Regional Quarterfinals.
Last week, Rockwall-Heath went into their area-round matchup against Mansfield showing no doubts that they were meant to be there. The Hawks made quick work of Mansfield winning the series 2-0 (5-2, 8-4) and advancing to the next round. Fans should expect the same strength coming in to this round of play.
Rockwall-Heath is set to face off against Sachse in a series that begins 7:00 p.m. Thursday at Wylie East.
Frisco Wakeland
The Frisco Wakeland Wolverines have shown their athletic dominance in all of their sports so far this season, baseball has been no different. Posting an 8-0 district record to finish first in their district, the Wolverine baseball team has defeated the likes of McKinney Boyd, Frisco Liberty, McKinney North, Plano West, Rockwall, and more en route to the playoffs.
Outscoring their opponents by over 70 runs all season, the Wolverines are sitting pretty with a 29-9 overall record and a 94% win percentage. The team has shown their ability to shut down offenses that they face as well as use their own offense to capitalize whenever necessary. Last week, Wakeland shutout Carrollton Creekview in both games of their area-round matchup (6-0, 11-0) to take the series 2-0 and advance to the Regional Quarterfinals. With a red-hot 13 game win-streak, Wakeland will come in to this week's matchup ready to continue to extend their streak, looking as poised as ever.
Frisco Wakeland is set to face off against The Colony in a series that begins 7:00 p.m. Thursday at Little Elm.
Argyle
The Argyle Eagles are always willing to put up a true fight for what they want- a state title being one of the things they want. With a 12-1 district record, the Eagles took first place in their district after defeating the likes of Springtown, Castleberry, Decatur, Bridgeport, and more. Argyle has shown that their strength lies in their ability to hold their opponents off from scoring while their bats remain on fire throughout their games.
Outscoring their opponents by nearly 200 runs on the season, the Eagles have posted a 25-8 overall record with an 85% win percentage. Last week, Argyle didn't even flinch as they held Burkburnett to only one run all series; ultimately winning 2-0 (14-1, 11-0). Their poise and stamina can be expected to remain as they enter this week's matchup.
Argyle is set to face off against Fort Worth Benbrook in a Regional Quarterfinal series that begins 7:30 p.m. Friday at Fort Worth Boswell.