A shiny ring here, a large roadside sign there, all memories of Rogers’ 2007 Class 2A state baseball championship.
But as junior Greg Mendoza says, “We’re a new team. We try not too look so far back in the past."
Though a few members of that team still are around, this group of Eagles has already forged its own identity. It’s lived up to the hype and worn the bull’s-eye as one of 2A’s best teams.
It’s taken part talent and part determination. But more than anything else, it’s required a razor-sharp focus to win at such a high level.
“We have to be on our game every week because everybody plays Rogers tough,” senior Cameron Doskocil said.
Having sky-high aspirations like the Eagles do is one thing. Living up to them is quite another.
Second-ranked Rogers has done that, rolling to a 24-3 record, the District 25-2A title and a perfect record against 2A competition.
The Eagles can move closer to their third state tournament appearance in four seasons with a win Thursday night in the opener of their Region IV semifinal series against No. 10 Danbury in Weimar.
Throughout the season, though, the focus hasn’t been on getting to Austin. The goal simply has been to win every time they step on the field.
“We know what we can do and what we’re capable of doing,” Mendoza said. “We know that these games are just stepping blocks to what we need to do.”
Before dropping a warmup game to 3A Giddings leading up to their area-round matchup against Blanco, the Eagles had reeled off 19 straight wins. The more they won, the more focused this group became.
“That’s the easy part,” first-year Rogers coach Keith Klaus said. “If you win, everything’s good. When you struggle, you find out about your character.”
And what they’ve learned is how to take everybody’s best shot and still get up and deliver the knockout punch.
The Eagles have worn a top-five ranking for much of the season and were the team to beat in 25-2A. Yet game after game, Rogers shook off its opponents’ best blows to earn its third perfect district mark in the last four seasons.
“One of the things we talk about is when you suit up . . . there’s that No. 2 ranking,” said Klaus, who came over from Rosebud-Lott to succeed Craig Coheley. “You’re going to get everybody’s best shot. You’ve got to be good every night.”
The Eagles have been tough to beat thanks to combination of stout pitching and hot hitting.
All nine hitters are batting .370 or above for a team that averages just more than 10 runs per game. Rogers ripped Hallettsville for 27 runs in its Region IV quarterfinal sweep last weekend.
The pitching has been just as impressive. The Eagles have a team earned-run average of 3.09 and four pitchers (Mendoza, Chance Marek, Ryan Fares and Travis Perkins) have four wins or more.
Finding this kind of team-wide focus can be tough when dealing with different personalities, and with teenagers there’s distractions abound.
But when the sole focus is winning - something the Eagles have done a lot of lately - it’s been easy for everyone to get on board.
“People expect us to win now,” Mendoza said. “We have to keep that up.”
rschneider@temple-telegram.com
