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Best in Texas: Bobcats place two on all-state baseball team
BY Chris O’Dell, codell@starlocalnews.com
After dominating the 10-3A all-district baseball selections, Celina continued to rack up honors this week.
The Bobcats placed two players on the 58th annual Texas Sports Writers Association/Collin Street Bakery Class 3A All-State Baseball Team as first baseman Austin Hambrick and starting pitcher Colin Firmin earned selections for standout roles during their senior campaign.
“They both deserved it,” said James Evans, Celina head coach. “I’m proud of them.”
“He was the offensive MVP in our district for a reason,” Evans said.
That offensive production landed Hambrick on the third team with Pecos first baseman Jesus Salgado.
Firmin anchored Celina’s rotation throughout the season and tallied a 10-2 record while keeping his ERA under 1.50 for the year. Those efforts helped the Bobcats earn a share of the 10-3A championship and also put Firmin on the honorable mention list for pitchers.
“He was our No. 1 pitcher,” Evans said. “He had a great year pitching and just a great year all around for us.”
Firmin became one of the few players to earn two spots on the all-state team with a selection on the honorable mention list for outfielders as well. In addition to solid play in the field, the Celina ace hit .432 and drove in 15 runs for an offense that struggled with consistency at times this season.
“It’s hard to get guys on [the all-state team],” Evans said. “All we can do is nominate a player and that’s it.”
Firmin and Hambrick helped carry Celina to a 7-1 mark against 10-3A counterparts en route to the top seed and a share of the district title. The Bobcats ultimately failed to make a long postseason run, however, after falling to Farmersville in back-to-back games after taking the series opener of the first-round playoff matchup.
Firmin was named the 10-3A MVP and Hambrick earned offensive MVP honors.
“It’ll be tough to replace those guys,” Evans said. “They were two leaders for us on and off the field.”
Celina will find itself with new competition in its quest to duplicate this season’s success in district play as the Bobcats are moving into a five-team district with Argyle, Aubrey, Carrollton Ranchview and Frisco Lone Star, while leaving Van Alstyne, Bonham, Commerce and Anna.
“We’ll have a good group of guys coming back,” Evans said. “We should still be strong in a lot of areas.”
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