Keller baseball relying on airtight bullpen during extended playoff run

The Keller baseball team has found a bullpen mix that is setting it apart from the norm on its way to a berth in the Class 6A regional semifinals this weekend.

The Indians (26-8) play Amarillo (26-13) in a best-of-three series Friday and Saturday at Abilene Christian University.

If the first six postseason games are an example of what’s to come, and Keller has a lead, expect the ball to go to first baseman Hunter Seay in the sixth-inning setup role and Shea Langeliers, the starting catcher, to close things out.

“Usually you’re handing the ball to the starter and asking him to give you as many innings and good pitches as he can,” Keller coach Rob Stramp said. “But for us, we’re trying to get to our bullpen. It’s not a question of if, but when.”

That strategy has paid dividends for Keller, keeping pitch counts low and allowing Seay and Langeliers to keep full-time fielding positions.

The Indians’ starting pitchers have simply been asked to throw quality pitches into the fifth inning before giving way to the bullpen.

Langeliers will usually catch Seay, who will then go back to first base for the seventh, while Brady Lindsly will come in to catch for Langeliers.

In the playoffs, Seay and Langeliers have pitched the sixth and seventh innings in five of six games with Seay working the seventh inning of Game 1 in the bi-district series against Plano to record the save.

That dynamic is eye-popping when you consider that in four of the six playoff games, Keller’s opponent has worked its starting pitcher to a complete game; in another game, the opposing starter pitched all but the last two outs.

“It’s one of those things where we’ve come up with a strategy to get our bullpen into the high-stress, late innings and have them out there with fresh arms,” Stramp said. “Other than Coppell, I can’t think of another team in our area that has the kind of depth where they can do this.”

In Game 1 against Hebron last week, Zane Wilkinson gave Keller a strong start with 3  2/3 innings, giving up only one earned run and three hits before Stephen Norrell came on to pitch 1  1/3 innings..

That got Keller to the sixth, where Seay came on and then Langeliers to close it out.

“I think we had a pretty good bullpen last season, but this year, we have complete confidence in the roles these guys are playing,” Stramp said.

“With how we’re working this, the kind of mentality and physical presence these guys have, if it gets to a Game 3, they would have enough stamina and low pitch counts to work two or three innings for us.”

This story was originally published May 24, 2016 at 6:36 PM with the headline "Keller baseball relying on airtight bullpen during extended playoff run."