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SundaySportsExtra

J u n e 1 9 , 2 0 1 1

Waxahachie summer campsPage 9B

INSIDE

Autrey talks Red Oak baseballPage 7B

Hides, Panthers expect morePage 7B

Marks returns to the field Page 10BKing ready to ascend throne

Page 10BHat trick leads to 4-2 victory

Page 10B

RelentlessIndians fight back from rough start to reach promise land

By CHAD WILSONDaily Light Sports Editor

Hey Disney, the Waxahachie Indi-ans have a story for you.

In 2010 the Waxahachie Indians were young with limited varsity experience and as a result the team missed the playoffs after a rough trek through District 16-4A.

Fast-forward one year and the more experienced Indians found themselves in a familiar position as they sat in sixth place in District 15-4A with a 3-5 record at the half way point.

The only way Waxahachie could guarantee itself a place in the play-offs was to win its remaining eight district games.

Easy?Not especially.Waxahachie had road games left

with Forney and Highway 287 ri-val Ennis, hosted the extremely talented Corsicana Tigers and even if they went 7-0 there was no way

they would be the team to snap Mes-quite Poteet’s district winning streak that dated back to 2007 when the 11 Waxahachie seniors were in eighth grade.

Disney, here’s your story.Behind a complete game three-

hitter by senior left-hand pitcher Kyle McLeroy and clutch perfor-mances by senior Cameron Phillips the Indians did the unthinkable and defeated Poteet, a team ranked No. 5 in the state at the time, 4-3 at Rich-ards Park to move from sixth place to second place in the final district standings.

Not bad for a team everybody counted out eight games into district play.

“Since we dug ourselves a hole in the first half of district by going 3-5 every game after that was the big-gest game for us,” Phillips said. “We knew that this was going to be an

See INDIANS, Page 4B

Waxahachie Indian Baseball Season Review

Photo by Chad Wilson/The Daily Light

Never shy to stand up for his team, Waxahachie head coach Tracy Wood said the 2011 Indians accomplished something he’s never seen in 23 years of coaching.

‘I’ve never seenanything like it’

Waxahachie’s Tracy Wood talks about theseason, his aggressiveness and what’s next

The 2011 Waxahachie Indi-ans started the season out strong before entering District 15-4A play and finding themselves on the los-ing side of several close games. At the mid-way point of district the Indians stood at 3-5 and in a must-win situation the rest of the way in order to reach the postseason.

No problem.Taking it one game at a time

the Indians went 8-0 through the second half of district play before opening the playoffs by taking two-of-three against District 16-4A champ Pflugerville Hendrickson in the bi-district playoffs.

Waxahachie’s success did not

stop there as the Indians rolled through Sherman and Hallsville before ending their season against Rockwall-Heath in the fourth round of the Class 4A playoffs.

Few believed the Indians could turn things around after the 3-5 start to district but veteran head coach Tracy Wood believed in his senior-led team the entire way and that belief paid off.

Wood sat down with Daily Light Sports Editor Chad Wilson to talk about the season and the legacy left behind by the 2011 Indians.

See WOOD, Page 6B

Phillips, Indians’ biggest fan, 3B

Inside:

Playing their role, 2B All-district team, 3B

Pitching staff leads the way, 2B