Familiar foes prepare for battle in 5A quarterfinals
By L. SCOTT HAINLINE
Chronicle Correspondent
Alvin and Pearland are about as even as possible as the District 24-5A co-champions match up in this week's Class 5A Region III quarterfinal playoffs.
Both teams are coming off area-round sweeps with Alvin defeating Dobie 7-5 and 8-2 and Pearland blanking Kingwood 5-0 twice.
Pearland hasn't allowed a run during the playoffs, which the Lady Oilers opened with a 7-0 shutout of Fort Bend Austin.
Alvin was forced to three games in its bi-district series, but beat Clements 7-4 in the third game after winning the first 5-2 and dropping the second 9-2.
Against each other this spring, Pearland holds what is for the most part a meaningless 2-1 advantage. The teams split district outings with Alvin falling 2-0 at Pearland and Pearland losing 2-1 at Alvin.
During a District 24-5A seeding playoff that involved co-champs Pearland, Alvin and Brazoswood, the Lady Oilers downed the Lady Yellowjackets 3-2.
"Pearland beat us and went on to beat Brazoswood and get the top seed, but we out-hit them by one or two in that last meeting," Alvin coach Carla Newsom said. "It's always a war against Pearland, and we're expecting another one this week, especially with so much on the line."
The Alvin-Pearland winner advances to the region semifinals against Cy Falls or Cinco Ranch, which meet in another region quarterfinal this week. Also matched up among the region's final eight teams are Katy vs. Cy- Fair and Elkins vs. Brazoswood.
"Whenever we play Alvin, both teams really get up for each other, so it's going to be very intense," Pearland coach Laneigh Clark said. "Alvin is very tenacious and they always fight to the very end, and their will to win is very impressive. Alvin also has a number of very talented players."
Pearland senior Rhiannon Kliesing pitched back-to-back one-hit shutouts against Kingwood, finished with 24 strikeouts in 14 innings and slapped three hits in six at-bats, including two doubles and an RBI.
Clark's list of top Lady Oilers at the plate also included senior outfielder Kesha Hagerman, junior catcher Kelsea Orsak and senior second baseman Lindsey Langner.
"Kesha and Kelsea were really pounding the ball and getting hits all over the place," Clark said. "Langner came through with some big RBIs, and Rhiannon also had a good offensive series.
"It was another total team win from the cheering and support from the dugout to players doing what they needed to do on the field."
Amber Anderson and Tiffany Denham both pitched in Alvin's first win against Dobie, and Denham went the distance in the clincher. Second baseman Jessica Savage and first baseman Kelsie Kettler, both Alvin sophomores, had key RBIs in the area series.
"There's really not going to be any surprises against Pearland," Newsom said. "Both teams play very hard, so we're expecting it to be close again."
Brazoswood meets Elkins in a best-of-three series with Game 1 Thursday at 7 p.m. at Pearland, Game 2 Friday at 6 p.m. at Elkins, and if needed, game three 30 minutes after Game 2.
"We're the only district that still has three teams left in the playoffs, and that says a lot about our district," Clark said. "Playing in such a tough district really gets us ready for the playoffs."
Alvin softball coach
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