Shorthorns vs. Centerville in Semifinal Matchup of Battle-Tested Teams

The Schulenburg baseball team has taken its fans on a magical ride this postseason.

In five different games in the playoffs the Shorthorns have faced win-or-go-home situations and the Shorthorns have won all five.

They’ve done so on the strength of one of the deepest pitching staffs in Class 2A, with Owen Brenek, Brycen Schramek, Aaron Janecek and Connor Lichnovsky all throwing key outings over the last few weeks.

And then there’s the timely hitting, like last Saturday’s walk off hit by Jayse Janda that plated Owen Brenek with the winning run that got Schulenburg to the state semifinals. “The boys came together,” said head coach Isaiah Barrera, explaining last week how the ‘Horns got here after losing their first seven games of the season and finishing fourth in a very competitive District 29-2A. “It’s the right time to get hot. We started off (the playoffs) with Kenedy and they had knocked us out last year and we wanted to get revenge on them. That kind of got everything going, and the kids are playing really well right now.”

This week, in the state semifinals, Schulenburg faces a Centerville team that knows a thing or two about having its back against the wall, too. After losing the opener of its regional final against Shelbyville last week, Centerville was down 8-5 in the sixth inning of Game 1 and won 9-8. Then they were down 9-6 in Game 3 going into the seventh inning and won 10-9. Now the Tigers (26-5-1) face the Shorthorns (19-13) with a berth in the state title game on the line.

The series starts Thursday at 6 p.m. in Caldwell and continues Friday at 6 p.m. back in Caldwell. If necessary, a Game 3 would be Saturday at 6 p.m. back in Caldwell.

The winner of this best of three-series faces the Tom Bean/New Home winner in the state title game Thursday June 5 at noon at Dell Diamond.