Waggoner, Fairchild named to state teams
By Sam Waller
Two Albany athletes earned all-state baseball honors just in time for one to start the next sports season and a new school year.
First baseman Zane Waggoner and outfielder Cooper Fairchild were named to the Texas Sports Writers Association Class 2A All-State Baseball Team announced Tuesday, July 26.
“Both of them are very well deserving of that,” Lions baseball coach David Fairchild said. “It’s a big honor that tops off Cooper’s senior year and high school career, and a bright future for Zane coming in as a junior.”
The duo were key components in the top of the batting order for Albany, helping the Lions finish 21-6 overall and advance to the Region I-2A finals before falling to New Home one round short of a berth in the state tournament.
Waggoner, who will begin his junior football season next week, shared first-team honors at first base with New Home’s Brody Emert. During his sophomore baseball season, Waggoner led the Lions in several offensive categories, including batting average (.494), on-base percentage (.602), slugging percentage (.864), doubles (11), homers (5), extra-base hits (18), RBIs (37), runs scored (32), and walks (21). He also stole seven bases.
Cooper Fairchild received honorable mention as an outfielder. He batted .466 with a team-leading 41 hits. He had five doubles, a home run, and 22 RBIs. He scored 31 runs and stole 16 bases.
David Fairchild said the selections were notable in light of how state-tournament qualifiers traditionally dominate the selection. State champion Valley Mills, runner-up Shiner, and New Home combined for nine first-team selections.
“When you make it to the state tournament, the kids you nominate are pretty much automatic all-state picks,” the coach said. “We had several others I would like to have seen on the list, but Zane and Cooper are very deserving.”
