FEATURE: State-bound Wall Hawks proving to be as tough as they are talented

Blessed with 10 players on its roster that were part of a state tournament run in 2017, the Wall baseball team is among the most experienced in the state at its classification.

But it was the one thing this year’s team hadn’t experienced that had coach Jason Schniers just a little nervous heading into Game 3 of the Region I-3A championship series on Friday.

Sitting at 37-0 before falling 6-4 to Brock in Game 2, the 2019 Hawks had never had a loss to respond to during what can best be described as a dream season. So the 20-1 victory that followed their first defeat — and earned them a Class 3A state semifinal matchup with Kirbyville (33-7-1) at 9 a.m. Friday — was a pleasant surprise even for the man who’d been following this team and its achievements the closest.