Canyon Eagles set for winner-take-all game with Springtown in Thursday’s regional semifinal

CANYON, Texas (KFDA) - The Canyon Eagles are the final Texas Panhandle team remaining in the high school baseball playoffs.

On Thursday night, they will take the field at Frenship High School for a one-game, winner-take-all playoff matchup with the Springtown Porcupines.

For Eagles head coach John Doan, it’ll be the last go around. The longtime baseball coach announced he will be retiring at the end of the season.

Despite much of the attention centered around Doan’s impending departure, he’s still focused on giving all the credit to his players for what they’ve done to get to this point.

“That’s a great feeling to be the last team,” Doan said. “I shared that with a couple of other people, not for any reason, it doesn’t really mean anything that we’re the last one’s playing. I think it’s just kind of a neat deal for our kids that no one else is doing this but us.”

The Eagles had their struggles throughout the season, finishing third in the district behind Randall and West Plains. However, this postseason they’ve been dominant. The Eagles have rattled off six straight wins, with half of those victories coming by just one run.

“The other thing is, our kids, they’ve been in big situations,” Doan said of the way the team has performed in those close matchups. “They’ve been in stressful situations in games. They have just managed those situations so maturely. Everyone just plays at such a mature level, and they just handle things so well.”

First pitch for the Eagles is scheduled for 6:00 p.m. on Thursday at Frenship High School. Stick with TPSNSports.com for updates on streaming options for the game.

Copyright 2024 KFDA. All rights reserved.