BY RUSSELL HUFFMAN
TheFlashToday.com
Stephenville’s Yellow Jackets begin their best-of-three bi-district series against Benbrook Friday at 7 p.m. in Cleburne and fans attending should find two evenly matched teams.
Benbrook started out the season slow with a 7-9 mark before tearing off a 9-3 record in District 7-4A play. Kennedale topped 7-4A with a 12-0 district record to go along with a 20-6-1 mark and is ranked #22.
Stephenville with a 13-13 record and 7-5 mark in District 8-4A play has also seen some state-ranked competition.
In fact, that competition appears to have been a lot tougher including playing against #3 Godley and their 12-1 district record. The one league loss is the only blemish on Godley’s 21-1 overall season record. Throw in #10 Midlothian Heritage as the district number two team and you get a pretty good idea how the Yellow Jackets ended up in third.
“Yeah we’ve had some experience in the district against some really good baseball teams,” Coach Justin Swenson said. “We are pretty identical. Both teams pitch well and play good defense. We just need to score enough runs to win games”
A three-game series in high school is often a quandary for a coach when it comes to pitching Do you go with your number one guy and hopefully get a win? If you go with the number two guy then you have the number one for game two but then what if you drop game one?
Plainly put it’s a tough time of the year to be in Swenson’s shoes and midweek he and his coaching staff were still making a decision. Swenson got a chance to see Benbrook play last week so he knows what to expect.
The Yellow Jackets have gotten solid work out of Mason Castleberry who has a 2.92 ERA and 45 strikeouts, Daniel Luna has 43 strikeouts and a team-leading ERA of 2.70 and Caleb Smith has an ERA of 3.40 and has been the stingiest of Stephenville’s pitchers with 33 or more innings pitched issuing just 15 walks.
“We are still kind of up in the air about how we want to handle our rotation,” Swenson said. “We have discussed it a couple times but not all three of us have agreed yet. That’s something we have to get set and we will so our players know how to prepare.”
Swenson got a chance to scout Benbrook last week and after first seeing their statistics and then watching the team play in person he agrees with the assessments other coaches have given him about the two teams being very evenly matched.
“It’s a matter of who does the small things right if you want to win,” Swenson said. “They have two freshman pitchers but they throw in the mid to upper 80s. Nothing we haven’t seen in our district all year.”
Division 7-4a Standings – 2018
District Overall
| W | L | W | L | T | ||
| Kennedale Wildcats | 12 | 0 | 20 | 6 | 1 | |
| Fort Worth Benbrook | 9 | 3 | 16 | 12 | 0 | |
| FW Castleberry Lions | 8 | 4 | 18 | 6 | 1 | |
| Mineral Wells Rams | 6 | 6 | 10 | 15 | 0 | |
| Springtown Porcupines | 3 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 0 | |
| Lake Worth Bullfrogs | 1 | 9 | 2 | 19 | 0 | |
| FW Diamond Hill-Jarvis Eagles | 1 | 10 | 2 | 18 | 0 |
Division 8-4a Standings – 2018
District Overall
| W | L | W | L | T | ||
| Godley Wildcats | 11 | 1 | 21 | 1 | 0 | |
| Midlothian Heritage Jaguars | 10 | 2 | 18 | 5 | 0 | |
| Stephenville Yellow Jackets | 7 | 5 | 13 | 13 | 2 | |
| Glen Rose Tigers | 5 | 7 | 14 | 10 | 0 | |
| Venus Bulldogs | 4 | 8 | 10 | 12 | 0 | |
| Alvarado Indians | 3 | 9 | 12 | 14 | 0 | |
| Life Red Oak Mustangs | 2 | 10 | 8 | 15 | 1 |
Benbrook (16-12) Vs. Stephenville (13-12-2)
Game 1: Friday, May 4 at 7 p.m. at Cleburne High School
Game 2: Saturday, May 5 at 1 p.m. at Cleburne High School
Game 3: (if needed) 30 minutes after Game 2
| # | Jacket Batting | GP | PA | AB | H | 1B | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | R | HBP | ROE | FC | CI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Anthony Wehnert | 18 | 31 | 28 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 9 | .286 | .355 | .286 | .641 |
| 2 | Cade Dunavent | 24 | 71 | 49 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 15 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 16 | 7 | .204 | .429 | .286 | .714 |
| 16 | Caleb Smith | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 5 | Clay Krause | 21 | 55 | 47 | 12 | 7 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 21 | .255 | .333 | .447 | .780 |
| 19 | Cody Storrs | 9 | 28 | 20 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 3 | .200 | .385 | .200 | .585 |
| 22 | Cole Smith | 9 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .600 | .714 | .600 | 1.314 |
| 0 | Cole Stanley | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .000 | 1.000 | .000 | 1.000 |
| 6 | Daniel Luna | 16 | 31 | 27 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 6 | .222 | .323 | .370 | .693 |
| 7 | Derek Gifford | 26 | 89 | 76 | 17 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 14 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 7 | 16 | .224 | .322 | .355 | .677 |
| 3 | Easton Jones | 6 | 11 | 8 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .500 | .636 | .750 | 1.386 |
| 17 | Gabe Moore | 28 | 96 | 79 | 24 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 11 | 16 | .304 | .379 | .405 | .784 |
| 25 | Gage Graham | 28 | 109 | 90 | 29 | 24 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 12 | 26 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 15 | 24 | .322 | .430 | .411 | .841 |
| 8 | Kade Averhoff | 26 | 79 | 74 | 21 | 15 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 15 | 13 | 0 | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 28 | .284 | .321 | .405 | .726 |
| 24 | Kendal Storrs | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 18 | Mason Castleberry | 19 | 49 | 40 | 12 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 5 | 7 | .300 | .391 | .400 | .791 |
| 13 | Nolan Carroll | 19 | 37 | 28 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6 | 3 | .179 | .343 | .214 | .557 |
| 20 | Paul Lettunich | 9 | 10 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 1 | .375 | .500 | .375 | .875 |
| 14 | Phillips | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 | .000 | .000 |
| 99 | Trace Morrison | 15 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .300 | .417 | .400 | .817 |
| 10 | Trevor Easter | 27 | 95 | 76 | 21 | 20 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 8 | .276 | .398 | .289 | .687 |
| 21 | Tyeler Reed | 14 | 31 | 26 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | .308 | .419 | .308 | .727 |
| 12 | Zane Smith | 13 | 28 | 22 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 6 | .136 | .321 | .318 | .640 |
| Totals | 28 | 870 | 713 | 193 | 144 | 36 | 10 | 3 | 129 | 166 | 33 | 40 | 25 | 0 | 100 | 159 | .271 | .382 | .362 | .744 | |
| # | Jacket Pitching | IP | GP | GS | W | L | SV | SVO | BS | SV% | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HBP | ERA | WHIP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | Cade Dunavent | 15.2 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 17 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 4.021 | 1.851 |
| 16 | Caleb Smith | 37.0 | 15 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 40 | 26 | 18 | 15 | 21 | 6 | 3.405 | 1.486 |
| 5 | Clay Krause | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
| 22 | Cole Smith | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | .000 |
| 0 | Cole Stanley | 2.1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 7 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 12.000 | 4.714 |
| 6 | Daniel Luna | 33.2 | 10 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 19 | 27 | 13 | 28 | 43 | 5 | 2.703 | 1.396 |
| 7 | Derek Gifford | 13.0 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 21 | 14 | 11 | 3 | 8 | 2 | 5.923 | 1.846 |
| 17 | Gabe Moore | 8.2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 12 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 12 | 0 | 5.654 | 2.077 |
| 8 | Kade Averhoff | 7.0 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 8 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 4.000 | 2.143 |
| 18 | Mason Castleberry | 38.1 | 10 | 9 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 39 | 32 | 16 | 26 | 45 | 4 | 2.922 | 1.696 |
| 20 | Paul Lettunich | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 7.000 | 2.000 |
| 99 | Trace Morrison | 8.2 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 10 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 8 | 0 | 2.423 | 1.962 |
| 12 | Zane Smith | 14.1 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .000 | 22 | 18 | 13 | 15 | 12 | 3 | 6.349 | 2.581 |
| Totals | 179.2 | 28 | 28 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 197 | 155 | 98 | 123 | 166 | 24 | 3.818 | 1.781 | |
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