ROWLETT — Plano East pushed Rowlett to the brink of elimination on Saturday. Unfortunately for the Panthers, the Eagles refused to go any further.

Just hours after rallying for two runs down in the bottom of the seventh inning to force a third game, Rowlett out-slugged Plano East to claim an 18-14 victory in the decisive game of their bi-district series.

In a game dominated by offensive highlights, Rowlett’s Steven Okert came on in relief and allowed just one hit in 3 1/3 innings to seal the win.

The Eagles (29-1-2) move on to the area finals where they will face either Bryan Adams or Tyler Lee, while the Panthers finish the season with a 15-17-1 record.

Few thought that a series between an undefeated team and one with a losing record was destined for three games, but East sent a message with Friday’s 3-1 win that it was here to play.

The Panthers nearly pulled off a sweep, but Rowlett was able to overcome a 5-1 deficit to pull out a 7-6 victory and force a third game. “That’s how the playoffs are, especially if you are 27-0, you better be ready to play,” said Paul Carmon, Rowlett head coach. “I didn’t think we were ready on Friday, and I took the blame for that, but today was all about them; they needed to be ready to go, and they came out and played well and somehow found a way.”

The conditions were ripe for a high-scoring affair in the third game. The two previous games had worn down both teams’ pitching staffs and there was a strong wind blowing out to the center field.

The offenses took advantage, particularly early on, combining for 24 hits and 30 runs in the first four innings. To add to the difficulty for the pitchers, they had to contend with a tightly-called strike zone. Five East pitchers combined for 12 walks in the game.

“If you didn’t have a guy throwing 95 today, you were going to give up 10 runs, I don’t care who you are,” Carmon said. “If that’s the strike zone you are going to have to pitch into and with the wind blowing out, you are going to give up 10 runs against these two teams, because if you have to throw it down the middle they can swing.”

East had every reason to feel deflated after Rowlett rode the momentum of its Game 2 win into a quick 7-0 lead after just two innings.

The Panthers refused to go away quietly, though, as senior Justin Snider belted a three-run homer to help narrow the deficit to 7-4.

The Eagles pushed the lead back to 9-4 on a home run by Reed Graham in the bottom half of the third, but that score did not last long.

East sent 14 batters to the plate and scored 10 times in the top of the fourth to turn a five-run deficit into a 14-9 lead. After senior Derek Bell and junior Nathan Snodgrass reached base, Snider had a RBI double and senior Jeff Emens added a two-run base hit to close to within 9-7.

Rowlett helped extend the rally by misplaying a pair of fly balls that got caught in the swirling wind and Bell and Snodgrass each had run-scoring singles to give the Panthers a 14-9 advantage.

The Eagles had already used three pitchers at that point and it was not until they turned to Okert that they were able to get out of the inning.

Rowlett responded immediately, as East pitchers had a hard time navigating the tight strike zone in the bottom of the fourth. With the help of six walks, as well as RBI from Reed Graham, Drew Mayhall and Blake Hamblin, the Eagles stormed back to take a 16-14 lead.

Snider entered the game as Plano East’s fifth pitcher and cooled off Rowlett’s bats, allowing just a two-run homer by Mayhall during the final three innings.

But the Panthers were finding things equally difficult at the plate against Okert, who retired the final six hitters he faced to seal the 18-14 victory and series win.

East head coach Travis Collins was despondent after the game and declined comment

GAME TWO

East was on the verge of a series sweep after it opened a 5-1 lead midway through the game, but Rowlett clawed back and completed the comeback on Andrew Johnson’s game-winning single in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 7-6 victory.

The Panthers fell behind early, 1-0, but got RBI from junior Logan Reneau and sophomore Conner Zmolik in the top of the third and a solo home run by Snider in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead.

The teams each scored twice in the fifth and in the top of the sixth, Reneau walked and came around to score on a bunt to make it 6-3.

Rowlett crept back to within a run after Hamblin smacked a two-run homer in the bottom of the sixth. Down to their final three outs, Mayhall tied the game with a one-out RBI double and Johnson followed with the base hit to drive in Mayhall and send the series to a decisive third game.