BY SAUL BERRIOS-THOMAS | STAFF WRITER
Sharyland Pioneer has had to fight since the beginning of the season.
The Diamondbacks started the District 31-5A campaign 2-4 and had to rebound to get back above .500. Coming down to the final few games, Pioneer’s playoff future hung in the balance.
“(The playoffs) are going to be a new experience for us, but we also feel like our road to the playoffs has prepared us for that,” Pioneer coach Casey Smith said. “Because we really had to gut it out to get in.”
The Diamondbacks won their final two games to secure the school’s first ever trip to the postseason. They finished the year 21-10-1 overall and 9-7 in District 31-5A.
Pioneer had two Laredo schools on its heels in Martin and Cigarroa. Up to the final game of the season, the three teams could have finished in a three-way tie. But Pioneer’s wins over Martin and Roma in the final two games gave the Diamondbacks the fourth and final playoff spot in 31-5A.
“The turning point, right there at the end, was the Valley View game,” Smith said. “We lost that game, but we played extremely hard, and we didn’t quit, and we just did a lot of things right. I feel like our kids kind of figured something out in that game, and they have been carrying that momentum ever since.”
Pioneer faces Brownsville Veterans in the bi-district round. The first game of the three-game series starts at 7 p.m. Thursday at Brownsville Veterans.
“I know they are extremely talented,” Smith said of Veterans. “They have been pretty hot in their district, and they have scored quite a few runs this year.”
Smith said Veterans has a deep pitching staff, which will be a major test for his Diamondbacks. But he said Pioneer will be ready for the challenge.
“We are going to continue to do what we have been doing,” Smith said. “We will go to work on the fundamentals and on our approach.”