Sam Houston Baseball Semi-Final Preview

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - In 2022 the Sam Houston Broncos fell to West Monroe in the Quarterfinals, one year later and the Broncos are set to face off against West Monroe once again, but this time in Sulphur with a spot in the Non-Select Division I State Championship game on the line, giving the Broncos a chance to get some revenge with everything to play for.

“Yeah I think so, I think they’re looking forward to the challenge and hoping that we can maybe turn the tables a little bit,” said Sam Houston head coach Chad Hebert on if his team is looking for revenge. “They’re the same guys they were last year, they’re all back, they bang, they’ve got a couple of young sophomores, their whole lineup is a presence, they don’t do much as far as stealing and stuff, but they can hurt you with the long ball and the double.”

Sam Houston had a successful regular season, but it didn’t come without adversity, the Broncos dealt with their fair share of injuries, but they were able to overcome all of that with a next-man-up mentality, and because of that, they find themselves back in the State Semi-Finals.

“I think our guys expect to be here, I think they know that we should be here, this group is really really resilient, you know they’ve been through a lot, we’ve had some guys injured a lot this year and they really played through it, and came through on the other side, and really the mantra all year long was just next man up.”

The Non-Select Division I bracket is one of just three brackets that had the 1-4 seeds make it to Sulphur, but the good news for Sam Houston is, they’ve already seen the second and third seeds, Barbe, and Sulphur a combined four times this season, and coach Hebert says the Broncos’ tough regular season schedule helped them make it back to Sulphur.

“I think it’s the atmosphere because when you play Barbe, when you play Sulphur here, the games are packed, they’re intense, the crowd’s on top of you so I think when your guys have experienced that already it makes it a little bit easier when you go into the playoffs and when you get into the state tournament in Sulphur.”

Sam Houston’s Semi-Final showdown with the top-ranked, reigning State Champion, West Monroe is set for Thursday, May 10th at 5:00 on McMurry Park’s Field 40.

For the full interview with Sam Houston head coach Chad Hebert, click here.

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