In fact, the Wildcats didn’t know they had qualified for state until a week after they played the last of their three qualifying tournaments.
After coming up short in qualifiers at Waco Midway and Southlake Carroll, Temple went to the June 13 qualifier in Abilene and defeated Abilene Cooper, Odessa and Eastland in pool play. The Wildcats lost to Class 3A Abilene Wylie in a semifinal, then avenged a loss at Southlake by beating Stephenville for third place.
Because only the top two finishers in the 16-team Abilene qualifier seized state berths, coach Craig Marshall and Temple left the Big Country thinking this summer wouldn’t include a third straight trip to state at Texas A&M in College Station.
However, Wylie proceeded to win the June 20 qualifier in Stephenville and has chosen to compete at state in the 32-team Division II bracket for 3A, 2A, A and some private schools.
That bumped Temple up to the runner-up position among 5A and 4A schools from the Abilene qualifier (which Abilene won), thus giving the Wildcats a berth in the 64-team Division I state tournament, set for July 10-11 at Penberthy Intramural Fields.
Marshall, a Temple graduate who coached the two previous 7-on-7 state squads, joked about the Wildcats returning to state through the back door. He’s serious, though, about Temple’s talent and ability.
“They are very athletic, and it’s amazing what they can do if they work hard and get after it,” said Marshall, who guided the Wildcats to five wins and the consolation semifinals in 2007, then a 4-1 record and a tie for ninth place last summer.
Temple’s offensive standouts include skilled possession receiver A.J. Coulter and athletic receivers Donovan Shumpert and Dominique Robertson, who catch passes from quarterback Isaac Matamoros. The defense is paced by Derrick Davis and Ryan Powell.
The offense also features highly recruited running back Lache Seastrunk - a receiver in the 7-on-7 game - along with receivers Chris Garcia, Jeviah Amos, Robert Benford, Devonte Collins and Silas Moten. The defense also includes Michael Sullivan, Matt Wells, Marcus Hayes, Steven Boggess and Ryheem Johnson.
Copperas Cove, a rival of Temple’s in District 12-5A, also has qualified for state in the Division I bracket.
All three of the area’s 3A schools - Cameron Yoe, Rockdale and Gatesville - have qualified for the Division II state tournament, which is set for July 9-10 at A&M.
- TC baseball products striving various stages of minors -
Former Temple College baseball players Matt Miller and Boone Logan are at the highest level of the minor leagues and hoping to reach the majors, ex-Leopard Daniel Meadows is making a strong case to be promoted and TC products Kane Holbrooks and Lance Loftin have just begun their professional careers.
Miller, who played for TC from 2001-02 and is in his sixth season as an outfielder in the Colorado Rockies’ organization, continues to push for his first bump up to the big leagues. A year after batting a combined .341 with 107 runs batted in at Double-A and Triple-A, Miller is hitting .326 with five home runs and 60 RBI in 69 games with the Colorado Springs Sky Sox of the Pacific Coast League.
Left-handed relief pitcher Logan is excelling for the Atlanta Braves’ Triple-A team, the Gwinnett (Ga.) Braves, as he shoots to return to the majors after being traded by the Chicago White Sox, for whom he pitched from 2006-08. In his first season in the Atlanta system, Logan has a 4-2 record, a 3.28 earned-run average and 39 strikeouts in 35 2/3 innings.
Considering he was drafted in the 49th round last year and struggled some in rookie ball, big lefty Meadows is having what could be called surprising success in the Milwaukee Brewers’ chain. Meadows is 11-1 with a 3.57 ERA and 51 strikeouts in 53 innings for the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers of the Class A Midwest League.
Meanwhile, Holbrooks and Loftin - two mainstays on TC’s Junior College World Series squad of 2006 - made their pro debuts Wednesday. Both were drafted out of Texas State earlier this month.
Holbrooks, who recorded TC’s only World Series win, pitched a scoreless inning with a strikeout for the rookie-level Elizabethton (Tenn.) Twins. Loftin, who played shortstop with the Leopards, threw two innings and struck out three for the Toronto Blue Jays’ team in the rookie-level Gulf Coast League in Florida.
Belton graduate and former TC standout Brian Ruggiano just began his second season as a second baseman in the Los Angeles Dodgers system and is in the rookie-level Arizona League.
Also, ex-TC first baseman David Wood is batting .247 with three homers and 23 RBI in 50 games in his second year with the Burlington (Iowa) Royals, Kansas City’s team in the Midwest League.
gwille@temple-telegram.com
