Katy is comfortable in the playoffs.

The Tigers get into a routine, work all week to improve, scout their opponent and set themselves up for success.

That routine paid dividends for the Tigers last year and the process is already showing up for the Tigers this postseason, with Katy earning a sweep over Travis, taking game one 4-1 before closing things out on Friday with a 1-0 win over Travis.

“We just are able to get into more of a routine that we are able to in district the way we can use the early week for practice heading into games,” said Katy head coach Wes Hearne. “It lets us put it all together and we had a great week of practice this week, that just helps us go into games playing the right way.”

It was a terrific day for Cade Nelson on the mound for the Tigers, as the junior pitched six innings and allowed just two hits while striking out six in the shutout. Nelson hadn’t taken the mound for Katy in a couple of weeks, but when his name was called he stepped up his game and put together a complete performance, which Aaron Brashear capped off with a strong seventh inning.

“Cade was phenomenal, especially considering the amount of time its been since he last pitched,” Hearne said. “He threw strikes and commanded the zone today. We needed hime so it was great to see the way he pitched today. It’s a great feeling knowing we have the arms that we do in the rotation.”

Katy only had five hits all day and only needed one run, which they got in the bottom of the fifth. Aiden Barrientes led the inning off with a bunt and Jeremy Mazariegos moved the runner over with a sacrifice bunt. Ashten Ballew then drove in the games only run with a single that brought Barrientes home.

“They finally hung a breaking ball to me and I was just able to work with it and put it in a gap,” Ballew said. “We didn’t see a lot of fastballs today or in this series so I had to adjust in the box. I made that adjustment, waited on it and was just able to take advantage of the pitch to get the run across. It was a good feeling.”

Katy advances to face the winner of Lamar and Jersey Village in the second round. The Tigers are prepared, and they only plan to keep improving with the extra week.

“We are approaching things the right way and we just have to keep doing the same thing and grinding,” Ballew said. “It’s the same adjustments, same approach that we’ve had the last few weeks. We know if we stay off breaking balls in early counts and wait for fastballs that we can make teams pay and score runs, and our pitching staff always gets it done. If we scratch off runs we are going to find a way to win.”