Shocked, amazed, disappointed; those are just a few words to describe the end of the 2015 baseball season for the Kingwood Mustangs.
Since their state championship in 2005, the Mustangs have remained one of the state’s most accomplished programs, making the playoffs year in and year out. But the 2015 season was different and not in a good way.
The 2015 season saw the Mustangs season come to an end without a playoff appearance for only the second time since before the 2005 season. Albeit, District 16-6A was perhaps the toughest district in 2015 Texas 6A baseball with powerhouse teams like Oak Ridge, The Woodlands, and College Park to compete against. Still, Kingwood had high hopes for last year’s team.
“Personally, I think playing in such a tough district last year helped a lot of our returning players,” said senior outfielder Chase Evans. “In the games we lost, we didn’t lose by much, it really came down to one bad inning. Knowing that we were one bad inning away from the playoffs stuck with a lot of us.”
Coach Kelly Mead wasted little time this off-season getting his team ready for 2016. And that has been apparent this season.
The Mustangs came out on opening day and won their first two games at home, defeating Cypress Creek 5-3 and Tomball Memorial 3-2. After starting out 2-0 in the Humble ISD Tournament, the Mustangs went on to drop three of their last four games, finishing the tournament with a 3-3 record.
“Our mood coming out of that tournament was positive, we played well against the good teams and came out flat against the teams we were ‘supposed to beat’,” Evans said. “Coach Mead was a little uneasy after that tournament because the expectations for our team are so high. He said we need to focus on being more consistent and making teams play up to our level.
"This is one of the most talented and hard-working teams that I have ever been on. Again, it comes down to being consistent in everything we do.”
Kingwood traveled to Ridge Point the following weekend for the Fort Bend Invitational Tournament where the Mustangs looked to get back on track. Get back on track they did.
The Mustangs came out in their first game firing on all cylinders, defeating 16-6A foes, The Woodlands, 2-0. Kingwood rallied around senior pitcher Sam Page, who threw a no-hitter, to defeat one of the state’s best teams.
The Mustangs kept that momentum going in their second game when they squeezed out a 6-5 win against the defending state champions Cypress Ranch. Kingwood completely turned things around in the Fort Bend Invitational, as they finished 5-0 on the weekend. On the way to their undefeated weekend, the Mustangs picked up a big win over Elkins, 11-1, in 5 innings.
“We worked on getting into a hitter’s count all week before the tournament,” said senior outfielder Joey Gennusa. “We came out hot with our bats. Our team’s performance was amazing, I couldn’t have been happier with the way we played. We executed everything perfectly, our pitching and defense were incredible.”
Last Tuesday, the Mustangs were one of the few teams that didn’t have their game postponed due to thunderstorms in the area because they played at the Houston Astros Minute Maid Park. Mustang players got to live out their dreams in a game against Caldwell.
The Mustangs opened the game with three runs runs in the top of the first inning, finishing where they left off only two days prior. The Mustangs went on to win 10-3.
“It was amazing, I’ve dreamed of playing [at Minute Maid Park] since I first started playing baseball,” said Gennusa. “The feeling of running out and looking around at the stadium from the field was awesome. I just visualized thousands of fans in the crowd while we were playing, it was all-around an amazing experience!”
It was a special opportunity for Evans, too.
“It was a dream come true,” he said. “Getting to play in the stadium that I grew up watching the Astros play in has always been a dream of mine, being able to live that dream was surreal. Playing under the lights and the roof is an experience that I will never forget.”
With their tournament canceled last weekend due to weather, district play is right around the corner for the Mustangs. They head into the March 14 showdown with Oak Ridge with a record of 9-3. The Mustangs looked to have corrected mistakes they made last year but only time will tell.
“Our ultimate goal is just to improve on last year and stay humble,” said Gennusa. “But at the same time, keep winning and eventually get to state. We learned a lot from finishing fifth in the district last year and that one inning. We put emphasis on those mistakes so they won’t happen again this year.”
