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Heading into the sixth inning at home against Richardson Monday, Plano East trailed 1-0 and was not getting the same type of batting they had last week against Plano West.
“We were a little frustrated early,” said Travis Collins, East head coach. “But our kids didn’t give up. They kept hanging in there and we were able to put together a string of runs to win the game.”
In the bottom of the sixth, the Panthers scored six runs against Richardson pitcher Chase Weaver and benefitted from a base-clearing triple from senior T.J. Bowe to take the game, 6-1.
East senior pitcher Derek Bell gave up the only run in the second inning, allowing a handful of singles and two doubles in the win.
Bell struck out five in the game, walking just one, and finished the last three innings without giving up a hit.
“He threw well,” Collins said. “Though they hit him early, he didn’t let that get to him and he came out each inning pretty strong. We talked about a few things last Monday, like how we come on and off the field each inning and the intensity we have to play with. “I think our senior leaders have really taken control of that in practice and I think it’s transferring to the field now.”
With two outs in the bottom of the sixth, the Panthers had runners at first and second, and were hopeful that somebody would come through. Though Weaver had pitched a solid game for Richardson with five strikeouts, the passed ball became a problem for him in the inning.
East took advantage, moving runners around before Bowe came up and drove in three runs with a triple.
“You have to give their pitcher credit,” Collins said. “He pitched a good game.”
But just like that, the Eagles were down five runs with Bell gaining confidence, and the Panthers closed out the seventh inning with the win.
While other teams in the area were playing in tournaments over the weekend, the Panthers schedule gave them a break in action. Collins says there is no big strategy in taking the weekend off except that it gives him an opportunity to correct some things he has observed.
“That’s just the way we’ve always done it,” Collins said. “We play so many games early in the school year that we answer a lot of questions to answer early. We had three good practices and were able to go over a couple of fundamental things we needed to look at.”
One of the biggest questions Collins had for this team was where his run production was going to come from.
Since the beginning of the season, the Panthers have been trying to find the right people to fill the lineup, and Collins feels things are beginning to come along.
“We aren’t striking out very much,” Collins said. “We have to work on hitting consistently. We will hit two or three balls real hard here and there, but we aren’t hitting it hard all of the time. But looking at Monday’s results, you just never know what’s going to happen in this district.”
Even with some hitting lulls early on, East is tied with Berkner for third place in the early going of the District 9-5A season, just one game back of Allen and Plano West.
Collins was fairly certain the Panthers would not play today, 7 p.m. on the road against Berkner, but the team is hopeful to get back on schedule before the week ends. If today’s game is washed out, it would likely be rescheduled for Thursday, with East set to host Wylie at 7 p.m. Friday.
