Sooner or later, the road to a state championship was going to lead through Big Sandy anyway. So the Albany Lions (23-7) may as well face the top-ranked Wildcats (34-4) in the state semifinals.
Why waste time?
The Lions will square off with the defending state champs at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Round Rock’s Dell Diamond. The winner advances to face either Valley Mills (28-6) or Linden-Kildare (20-9) for the state title at noon on Thursday.
ALBANY — It wasn’t until the cusp of his graduation that Albany senior Ryan Hill was finally able to do what he had worked toward for months — play on the 2019 AHS baseball team.
Hill, a multi-sport standout who will be playing football at Hardin-Simmons University this fall, virtually shredded his right knee while playing basketball for the Lions in January — ending his high school hoops career in a split second.
Whether he could make it back in time for baseball depended on two things: First, an unparalleled response to rehab work. And second, a deep playoff run by Albany that could buy him just enough time to contribute something — anything — on the diamond.