Defending Class 3A State Champion Pleasant Grove Faces Lubbock Cooper in Wednesday’s State Semifinal

Class 3A
State Semifinal

Pleasant Grove (27-13)
vs.
Lubbock Cooper (31-10)

1 p.m. Wednesday (June 5), UFCU Disch-Falk Field, Austin

Coaches

Pleasant Grove -- Craig Jones
Lubbock Cooper -- Terry Baxter

How they got here

Pleasant Grove

Bi-district: bye (District 13-3A champion)
Area: def. Bullard 2-0 in series (4-2, 2-0)
Region II quarterfinal: def. Athens 2-0 in series (10-0, 4-1)
Region II semifinal: def. Princeton 2-1 in series (W 9-3, L 2-1, W 5-0)
Region II final: def. Melissa 2-1 in series (W 4-2, L 1-0, W 8-4)

Lubbock Cooper

Bi-district: bye (District champion)
Area: def. Big Spring 2-1 in series (W 10-1, L 3-2, W 10-2)
Region I quarterfinal: def. Abilene Wylie 2-0 in series (7-4, 13-0)
Region I semifinal: def. Kennedale 2-0 in series (3-0, 6-2)
Region I final: def. Stephenville 2-0 in series (8-1, 11-0)

Players to watch

Pleasant Grove

P/OF Trey Jeans, Jr. (.370; 7-3)
P/1B Jarod Bayless, Soph. (.266; 6-4)
P Dalton Willige, Sr. (.250; 5-0)
UTL Casey Rayburn, Sr. (.342)
P/CF Dylan Silvey, Jr. (.293)
P/1B Marshall McPherson, Jr. (.215; 4-1)
2B/P Alex Alsup, Sr. (.293; 1-1)
SS/P Ty Harp, Sr. (.294; 1-4)
3B/P Joe Pearlman, Fr. (.345)

Lubbock Cooper

P/SS Scotland Church, Sr. (.458; 9-1)
P/OF Ryan Moseley, Sr. (.278; 10-1)
OF/P Chandler Patterson, Sr. (.484)
C Stanton Keane, Jr. (.382)
INF Chase Freeman, Jr. (.378)
3B/P Braden Hayward, Jr. (.367)
OF Tyler Parr, Sr. (.315)
DH Austin Goolsby, Sr. (.311)
P Sterling George, Sr. (5-2)

Did you know?

Pleasant Grove will play in its sixth consecutive state tournament. The Hawks have won Region II every year since 2008, winning 3A state championships in 2010 and 2012.
Texarkana-area schools have won eight consecutive Region II championships. Before Pleasant Grove won six in a row, Liberty-Eylau won back-to-back titles, winning the 2006 state crown and losing to Jasper in the 2007 title game. Carthage, which won the 2005 state championship, was the last non-Texarkana school to win Region II.
The 2004 season was the last time an East Texas school did not win the Region II championship (Forney).
Lubbock Cooper's only other state tournament appearance was 2005, when the Pirates lost 6-1 to Carthage in the state championship.
In addition to its six consecutive state tournament berths, Pleasant Grove got to Austin in 1989 as well.
Pleasant Grove coach Craig Jones is in his 14th season at PG, which was his first head coaching job. Jones is a Paris North Lamar graduate.
Pleasant Grove is 49-7 in the playoffs since 2008, according to the Texarkana Gazette.
Pleasant Grove has hit one triple and no home runs this season.
Pleasant Grove has outscored its first four playoff opponents 43-15.
The Hawks are 8-2 in the postseason and their only losses have come by one run apiece (2-1 to Princeton, 1-0 to Melissa).
Pleasant Grove is 17-3 after starting the season 10-10.
Lubbock Cooper has outscored its first four playoff opponents 60-13.
Lubbock Cooper is 21-2 after starting the season 10-8.
Lubbock Cooper, which is 8-1 in the playoffs, has won seven consecutive games by a cumulative score of 58-9.