State semifinal pits Kennard, Nazareth

The Kennard Tigers get ready to board a chartered bus Tuesday morning for their trip to the UIL State Baseball Tournament. Fans gathered at the school to show their support before the caravan departed for Round Rock. Photo by Larry Lamb

The Class 1A State Baseball Semifinal between the Kennard Tigers and Nazareth Swifts features the only two returning teams from last year's Final Four.

Kennard (24-14) and Nazareth (20-1) didn't meet last season but they'll go head-to-head at 9 o'clock Wednesday morning at Dell Diamond in Round Rock with a berth in the championship game on the line.

Both Kennard and Nazareth made their state tourney debuts last year. Kennard beat Hubbard 3-1 in the semifinal while Nazareth fell to Fayetteville 4-0.
Fayetteville won the 2021 state championship over Kennard 6-4 but won't have a chance to defend its title after being eliminated by D'Hanis Cowboys in the Region 4 final. This will be the seventh state appearance for D'Hanis, which won the 2019 state championship.

D'Hanis (26-3) faces off with Region 2 champion Abbott (21-3-2) in the other semifinal match-up at noon Wednesday. Abbott, making its fourth state appearance won the 1A title in 2017 but failed to defend its title in 2018.

The semifinals winners return Thursday at 9 a.m. to play for the 1A state crown.