ABILENE — Brady Webb isn’t short of gratitude in reaching Dell Diamond for the second year in a row.
The New Home baseball coach appreciates what it means to end the season in Round Rock — which the Leopards have experienced six times since 2018.
But capturing the ultimate win has eluded the program and Webb is ready to erase that aspect of the Leopards’ near-decade of dominance.
New Home will get another chance for its first state championship when it faces Iola in the Class 2A Division I title game at 9 a.m. Thursday.
The Leopards (29-8) bounced back from a Game 2 loss to take their semifinal series over Tom Bean on Saturday. The 18-6 win elicited a celebratory reaction worthy of the occasion, but Webb doesn’t feel fully accomplished yet.
“I love for the boys to be able to experience this,” Webb said following Game 3. “But I don’t think we’ve got a kiddo in this dugout who’s satisfied with what we’ve done. We’re ready to go. This is just a step on the road for what our goal that we want to accomplish is.”
New Home baseball returns to state
The early-morning tilt will mark New Home’s third state final in program history. Until last season, the state semifinals were also played at Dell Diamond, making the stadium familiar stomping grounds for the Leopards.
The results have made it a bittersweet cathedral. New Home fell 6-1 to Centerville in last year’s championship, and the Leopards’ closest call was a 4-0 defeat to D’Hanis in the 2019 final.
The Centerville loss was New Home’s second-straight at Dell Diamond in which it amassed on hit.
So, there’s plenty of reason the team is itching for its shot at redemption.
“Oh, we want it bad,” junior Brock Bessire said. “We’ve got this thing called the revenge tour. We’ve got to go back and get that gold. We want it really bad. No one’s ever done it before, and we want to be the team to bring it home.”
Breaking down New Home baseball vs. Iola
The Leopards have won 12 of their past 13 games, a stretch that began with a 16-1 win over 2A D-II finalist Ropes. The semifinal clincher marked the ninth time in that run they’ve scored in double figures. The three-game set also showed New Home’s range of pitching options.
The Leopards allowed three runs or fewer in seven of 10 playoff games. The team has three seven-game winners in Avin Madrid (7-3), Tucker Cotton (8-1) and Jair Johnson (8-1). Cotton is also one of four players batting .500 or better. All of the four were in the starting lineup in the 2025 title game.
What sets them apart goes beyond the box score, their coach said.
“The thing that I enjoy most about this group is just they love each other,” Webb said. “They work hard for each other. I enjoy going to practice every day. I enjoy spending time with these boys. And I wasn’t ready to be done with them. “
Iola (26-4) is making its state debut. Previously, the Bulldogs had never reached the semifinals.
The team has thrived on one-game playoffs, winning three en route to Round Rock. That included a 2-1 decision over Frankston in the semifinals. Iola’s Brody Vaughn allowed five hits in a complete game with nine strikeouts and no walks. Vaughn (15-0) recorded eight-plus strikeouts in three postseason starts.
One team will raise its first state trophy Thursday. Webb hopes it’s finally New Home’s turn.
“We haven’t been able to accomplish that, and the boys know that,” Webb said. “We’ve got many boys on this team that have been there. We’ve got a couple of them who have been there multiple times. They want it. They’re gonna do everything they can, no doubt in my mind. They’re gonna do everything they can to make sure they’re ready to go and they’re prepared to give us the best shot we’ve got to finish this thing.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: New Home baseball continues chase of elusive state championship
Reporting by Stephen Garcia, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
