WALL, TX — In 2021, the last time the Wall Hawks duked it out with the Brock Eagles, Wall had recently won a state championship. Brock defeated the Hawks in three games in the Regional Final to end their season. This was two seasons ago, and Wall hasn’t returned to the Regional Final since. That all changes on Thursday, June 1, at Crutcher-Scott Field at Abilene Christian University at 7 p.m. Wall has a chance to return to the state tournament this year, and the Hawks’ Skipper thinks they are ready to go.
“Our kids, since they were young, watched us play in 2017, 2018, and 2019 against Brock. They know what this rivalry is, and they know that in the past six years, the team to represent Region I at state was either Brock or Wall,” Schniers said.
Schniers believes the lights will be manageable for the Hawks, a team of only underclassmen. Wall did not have a single senior on their roster this year. Some might worry for the boys who’ve never played at this level, and Schniers admits that experience is one area where Brock has the definite advantage.
“Brock has the last two Regional Championships. They have kids who have played in those games,” Schniers continued. “That’s one advantage that those guys have. They have been in this situation for the last two years.”
Wall Hawks at Practice
(San Angelo LIVE! Photo/Ryan Chadwick)
Wall Hawks at Practice
(San Angelo LIVE! Photo/Ryan Chadwick)
However, Wall’s head coach says he just assures his players to play their game. “Keep doing what we do,” Schniers said at practice on Tuesday, “Be ourselves. Don’t let the game get too big for you. Sometimes when you have Freshmen and Sophomores, that can happen. We’re just trying to keep the guys composed and try to make it easy on them.”
“The one thing we need them to understand is that this is the game they’ve played since tee-ball and the same we’ve played for the last 38 games.”
Brock will make things challenging for the Hawks in this matchup. The Eagles bring strong pitching and a dynamic offense to this series. So far, Brock remains undefeated in the playoffs. “I feel like both teams are similarly built as far as arms and our depth,” Schniers said. “We have seven to eight guys that can get up there and throw strikes anytime.”
One thing Schniers loves about his baseball team is their resiliency. They need some of that resiliency this weekend in Abilene. Wall fell in game one to Blanco 11-2 in the Regional Semi-finals. Some teams would come out flat in Game 2 and be unable to mount a comeback, but the Hawks did. Wall turned around and beat Blanco 7-4 and 4-2 to win the series.
“I didn’t think going into Game 1 last week we’d fall behind, but we did,” Schniers continued. “It happens, and we adjusted. That’s what these guys have done all year long. They’ve handled adversity and shown that they can overcome that.
Watch the Full Interview with Coach Schniers Here:
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