They can flash the leather but can’t cast a ballot.

This time last year they were busy finishing up the eighth grade. Now they’re preparing to face one of the region’s top baseball teams in a first-round playoff series.

Belton freshmen Seth Alcozer, Shane Hoelscher and Dillon Newman are in another world compared to most 15-year-olds. They are not, however, in over their heads.

“I always joke that I usually don’t talk to freshmen until they’re juniors,” Belton coach David Tidwell said. “But these guys walked in and showed me what they could do.

“They had to play a higher caliber of ball, and they’ve done that. I wouldn’t play them if they couldn’t.”

The young trio’s next chance to show its skills comes at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, when Belton (17-10) opens a best-of-three Class 5A bi-district series against Pflugerville (25-7).

It’s quite a jump from the select baseball the threesome played last summer. But with 27 varsity games under their belts, all three players have become accustomed to making the leap.

“Playing three years up was kind of intimidating for a while,” Hoelscher said. “But then once you’re in there, you just have to go for it.”

And they’ve gone for it well.

Alcozer, the Tigers’ starting first baseman, hit a team-best .419 during District 13-5A play. He drove in 11 runs and belted six extra-base hits, including a home run.

Hoelscher, who starts in center field, hit .371. He smashed a pair of homers, scored 14 runs and drove in 10.

Newman, a hard-throwing right-hander, was 3-0 in district before a sore elbow forced him to miss the last half of the league season. Prior to the injury, he carried a 1.91 earned-run average, with 24 strikeouts and just six walks in 14 2/3 district innings.

“We’ve had some great freshmen here, and not many of them have played on our varsity,” said Tidwell, who has guided Belton to 17 playoff appearances in the last 19 years and has 551 career victories. “To do what they’ve done for us already, if they don’t get hurt, the people of Belton have a lot to look forward to.”

But a bright future hasn’t caused the players to lose sight of the present - maybe because they haven’t had time to ponder what lies ahead.

“We have had so much to learn,” said Hoelscher, the only one of the three who participated in offseason baseball during the fall. “Up here, it’s a totally different game.

“Like the teams we were used to playing on, there was no bunting. Now with all the different plays we run and shifts and bunt coverages, it was a lot to learn.”

Having to ingest so much information on the fly has been a chore, but all three admit it has made them better players.

“We’ve been playing over a hundred games a year for a while,” said Newman, a running back on a sub-varsity football team that Alcozer quarterbacked. “But we’re a lot better now because we have faced so much better competition. That alone has made us a lot better.”

And once they started displaying their talents, the Tigers’ upperclassmen readily accepted them.

“They wanted to see what we could do as players first,” Alcozer said. “On and off the field, we all get along. We still get picked on because we’re freshmen, but we just take it.

“Like the first scrimmage of the year, they made me go ask for extra hamburgers knowing that we don’t get extra ones. I went and asked, and sure enough we didn’t get any more burgers, but they got a good laugh out of it.”

The older players might have had a chuckle at the rookies’ expense, but the freshmen know the task they’ve been given is no laughing matter.

“I feel really honored to be playing as a freshman,” Hoelscher said, “especially because of the legend that Coach is.”

Added Newman, who might see time on the mound in this week’s series: “I didn’t have a clue I would be on varsity when the spring started, but I sure was hoping I would be.”

And for Alcozer, the only one of the three who has spent his entire life in Belton, it’s a childhood dream come true.

“Ever since I started coming to the big district games and playoff games when I was little,” Alcozer explained, “I always dreamed about stepping on the field in a Tiger uniform and playing for Coach Tidwell.”

Competing in the 5A baseball playoffs can be a daunting task for even seasoned veterans. But Tidwell knows if there are any underclassmen who can handle the situation, it’s his talented freshman trio.

“Dillon has thrown some of the best games I’ve ever seen by a freshman,” he said. “And the other two just hit the snot out of the ball.

“But what I like about them most is their work habits. They’ll do everything you ask of them.”

As long as you’re not asking them for a ride.