KRUM — Derek Howell’s philosophy when he’s on the mound is simple — keep the ball down in the strike zone.

DRC/Barron Ludlum

Krum junior Derek Howell had 19 strikeouts last week in a playoff win over Blooming Grove.

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That approach was key in the Krum pitcher’s one-hitter last week when he had 19 strikeouts against Blooming Grove.  

“That’s the most important part. Anybody can hit a fastball,” Howell said of his pitch location. “When we keep it down, it’s harder to hit and harder to place.”

Howell will face perhaps his toughest test of the season today when Krum (22-8) plays Palmer (22-10) in a one-game playoff at Mansfield in the Class 2A Region II quarterfinals.

Palmer averages nearly nine runs per game, and the Bulldogs have five batters hitting better than .360 with at least 90 at-bats apiece this season.

“Palmer is probably as good a team as we’ve played all year,” Krum head coach Ray Miller said. “They’ve got good ballplayers. We can’t go in there expecting a ton of strikeouts, so we got to keep the ball down in the zone and get ground-ball outs.”

Palmer defeated Farmersville, one of Krum’s district rivals, in a best-of-three series last week, winning the final two games after losing the series opener. Palmer exploded for 14 runs and 19 hits in Game 2 against Farmersville pitcher Austin Adams, who tossed a complete-game shutout against Krum in his previous start.

Howell, meanwhile, appears ready for the task. The junior has been impressive all season, compiling a 7-3 record and striking out more than a third of the batters he’s faced. Howell has a 2.08 ERA and 96 strikeouts in 64 innings pitched this season.

“Howell has been pretty steady all year,” Miller said. “He is a strikeout pitcher, and he gives us a chance to win every time he is on the mound.”

Changing speeds is another vital method to Howell’s approach. He features primarily three pitches — a splitter and a curve ball, along with a fastball that he throws in the mid-80s.

The splitter is an effective off-speed pitch he typically uses as a strikeout pitch.

“Keep changing speeds is big, and that’s what the splitter does,” Howell said. “It slows down a lot and drops.”

Howell’s 19 strikeouts last week were remarkable, considering that only 21 outs exist in a seven-inning game.

“He did a good job last week keeping the ball down, and he threw his splitter for strikes and it was an effective pitch for him,” Miller said. “In a seven-inning game, that’s probably as many [strikeouts] as I’ve seen.”

Miller, who is in his first year as the Krum head coach, came to Krum after coaching 22 years in Oklahoma.

The Krum offense will need to lend its support for Howell against Palmer. Krum had only four hits against Blooming Grove, but the Bobcats have scored runs at a solid pace this season.

Krum has benefited from a variety of contributors at the plate this season.

“Nearly everybody in the lineup has come through at some point in the year with a big play or a big hit,” Miller said. “We have had contributions from every batter in the lineup at different times.”

Howell is the team’s leading hitter with a .433 average this season. Tucker Hicks and Drew Wheeler are Krum’s top run producers, as the duo has combined for 54 RBIs.

Victor Cristales and Jordan Watts, the Bobcats’ No. 2-3 batters, are hitting better than .340 on the year, and cleanup hitter Randy Sargent ranks second on the team with 31 runs.

Neither productive hitting nor solid pitching, however, can pinpoint Krum’s success this season. Millers said the team’s primary characteristic is a mindset of knowing they’ll win close games and prevail in the late innings.

“It’s being able to do the little things to win the close games,” Miller said of the Bobcats’ success this season. “Things have went our way in the late innings of close games. We’ve taken care of business and done the little things right that allows us to win the close games.”

The Krum players are hoping they won’t need any late-inning heroics against Palmer in perhaps the biggest game of their careers.

“We just need to stay focused and play like we’ve been playing all year and not let the big game get to us,” Krum senior Colton Head said. 

BRAD McDONNELL can be reached at 940-566-6869. His e-mail address is bmcdonnell@dentonrc.com .