In prehistoric times – i.e. about a decade or so ago – Liberty Hill was a sleepy 4A powerhouse playing the likes of Llano, Burnet, Lampasas and others. For a few years, it became an unofficial tradition that the first baseball game K-MAC Sports, VYPE Live’s precursor, would broadcast was the season-opener between Liberty Hill and a still relatively new, hard-charging 5A Rouse team. It was usually cold and maybe a little drizzly and the baseball was not exactly mid-season form – but it was baseball, and it set the table for better games to come.
Fast forward to 2025, when Liberty Hill and Rouse will meet for a couple of afternoon matinees this Spring Break week as established 5A powers and intense District 25-5A rivals.
Both squads are off to good starts this season, tied at 2-0 atop the 25-5A standings. Liberty Hill (2-0, 10-4 overall) entered the season with a chip on its shoulder. Coach Brandon Creek’s Panthers roared to a 24-win season last year, only to get swept from the playoffs in the first round by Kerrville Tivy in two intense games. Although the Panthers don’t have a ton of guys back from last year’s squad, they appear to have supplemented their returnees with newcomers from their always solid JV teams.
Rouse (2-0, 11-3-2) went a bit further last season. Coach Chad Krempin’s Raiders got red-hot in the playoffs, finally falling in the State Semifinals and finishing 2024 with an impressive 34-10 mark. Like their exurban rivals, Rouse is “rebuilding” on paper, but their skeleton appears to have fleshed out fast.
While District 25-5A has been bunched like grapes the past few seasons, there appears to be a bit more separation in the early going. Whatever happens in these early-season clashes between Rouse and Liberty Hill, this week’s games will mean a lot more than those chilly non-district tune-ups of a decade ago.What: Liberty Hill vs. Rouse
When: Tuesday 3/18 & Wednesday 3/19 - 12:50 Pregame; 1:00 First Pitch
Where: Liberty Hill HS; Rouse HS
Who: Michael Rose
Watch: https://www.vype.com/ AND http://vypelive.com/web/broadcast/index
