The Tigers' strong play has garnished a lot of attention from college recruiters with pitcher Dillon Newman (Baylor), Shane Hoelscher (Rice), John Beck (UTA) and Seth Alcozer (Temple College) having all signed to play at the next level.

Newman, in particular, is a force to be reckoned with. He's the Tiger's leading pitcher with an 11-2 record and a very impressive .92 ERA for the season.

He's also amongst team leaders at the plate with a .385 batting average, including seven home runs on the season.

Newman isn't a one trick pony for the Tigers, though. Junior Taylor Vail, who also starts at linebacker for the Tiger's football team, matched Newman with an 11-2 record on the mound this season.

So there you have it 'Cats fans - welcome to playoff baseball. It doesn't get any easier from here on out.

Rest assured, the 'Cats didn't get this far from shying away from tough competition. One item the 'Cats can hang their hat on heading into this series is the fact that they're playing their best baseball of the season, with several players having stepped up their game of late.

Frankly, Coach Higgins squad isn't playing like the 4th place team out of District 9-5A. They've proven they know how to come from behind to win big games, and during the playoffs they've shown incredible resiliency when challenged with adversity.

As good as Belton is on paper, Coach Cornblum isn't taking the 'Cats for granted.

"We've done our homework and know how well the Wildcats are playing right now," Cornblum said. "We aren't looking past anybody, especially any team led by Coach Higgins. We've got to execute and play sound baseball if we want to keep on playing past this weekend."

"The Wildcats are hot right now which is always scary in the playoffs," Cornblum concluded. "This should be a good series."

Game 2 will be back in Lake Highlands on Saturday. First pitch at the 'Cats is set for 1:00 p.m. and, if necessary, Game 3 will begin 30 minutes after the conclusion of Game 2.

GO 'CATS!