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Murphy, Texas
 Rowlett awaits Panthers
Best-of-three first-round series starts Friday at PESH
By Greg Ford
Sports Editor
gford@wylienews.com
The Plano East Panthers did back their way into the 2008 playoffs.
However, the important thing is they’re in, and now anything can happen.
A year ago, the Panthers won District 9-5A, but were swept in the first
round by Rockwall, the fourth-place finisher in 10-5A.
This season, it’s role reversal, as the Panthers (8-6) are the
fourth-place seed out of District 9-5A and will meet 10-5A champion
Rowlett.
The best-of-three series begins 7:30 p.m. Friday at Plano East and
continues noon Saturday at Rowlett. Game 3, if needed, will take place
shortly after Game 2.
Can the Panthers knock off the Eagles?
The answer is yes if they play like they did through the first 11
district games, during which they went 8-3.
However, starting with a 7-5 loss to Wylie, the Panthers went into a
five-game tailspin that included a series of district defeats and a 9-3
non-district loss April 19 to Flower Mound.
Their two most recent losses were April 22 at Allen, 6-1, and Friday,
3-0, to Wylie in a play-in game that decided the third and fourth-place
seeds from 9-5A.
PESH recorded just two hits Friday, a single by Conner Zmolik and a double by Adam Humes.
The lack of hitting has been noticeable against PESH’s last three
district foes. During that period, Plano East has scored just two runs
in 21 innings.
The last time they crossed the plate was at Allen.
That occurred in the top of the fifth inning, when, with PESH trailing
1-0, Lance Hanzel reached on an error and went to second Zmolik’s
sacrifice. Derek Bell reached on an error, which moved Hanzel to third.
After Nick Bell struck out, Justin Snider singled to center to tie the game.
However, the deadlock was short lived, as Allen responded with two runs
in the bottom of the inning, and then added three more in the sixth to
break away.
The victory clinched second place for the Eagles. Had PESH won, it
would have finished 9-5 and clinched second place.
Earlier in the season, the Panthers dropped Allen 4-2 at Plano East.
District 9-5A
Baseball
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District |
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y -Plano West |
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1-13 |
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y - clinched district title
x - clinched playoff berth
Note: Wylie defeated Plano East 3-0 in a play-in game to determine the third- and fourth-place seeds.
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