PREVIEW: Wall Faces Off with Jacksboro in the Regional Finals

WALL, TX — The Wall Hawks continue their state title defense this weekend when the Hawks face off with Jacksboro in the regional finals scheduled to be played in Abilene.

This is the second straight year that Wall (27-8) will face Jacksboro (25-5) in the regional finals. Last season, Wall swept the series on its way to a state championship.

The matchup will be a best-of-three series at Abilene Christian University's Crutcher Scott Field, starting on Wednesday night.

• Game 1 - 6 p.m. - Wednesday
• Game 2 - 7 p.m. - Thursday
• Game 3 (If Necessary) - 7 p.m. - Saturday

After sweeping Coahoma in the regional semifinals last weekend, head coach Jeremy Gordon said that the boys are ready for the next step.

"Yeah, yesterday was a really good practice," Gordon said during Tuesday's practice. "Obviously, with it being a short week, only having Monday and Tuesday, it's a little bit difficult to gauge what you can get out of it, but I thought yesterday that they were very focused. Energy was way up, effort was there, and I thought it was as good a practice as we've had."

Wall had to battle rainy conditions on Tuesday. Lightning and storms forced the Hawks indoors, but they were hardly slowed down.

"Obviously, as you can see, we are doing this interview indoors today because of the rain, but we are getting a lot of good cuts over here and taking advantage of the resources we have available," Gordon continued.

The extra practice with the bats should come in handy for Wall as they go up against a young, but talented Jacksboro team that has only allowed 83 runs in 30 games this season.

Defensively, Wall needs to continue to put forth strong performances on the mound. While we still do not know who will start for the Hawks on Wednesday night, Wall has several talented pitchers who can get it done.

"The mentality is the same," one of Wall's pitchers, Wyatt Jost, said. "We are just going to go out there and do a job. We're ready to go."

If Wall wins this matchup, the Hawks will play the winner between Bells and Paradise in the state semifinal matchup next week.