Murphy, Texas
Baseball
Shining through
Sparkling play on diamond earns six Panthers All-District status
By Greg Ford
Sports Editor
gford@wylienews.com
District 9-5A proved to be the home of a champion this season, as Plano West marched all the way to a state title, which they claimed last weekend with a 10-8 win over Southlake Carroll.
Along the way the Wolves battled some tough competition, including their district foes.
Among them was Plano East, which finished fourth and came within a few outs of beating District 10-5A champ Rowlett in the first round of the playoffs.
The quality of district play was recognized recently with the release of the 2008 All-District team, a list that includes six PESH players.
Leading the way was senior pitcher Mark Roberson, whose efforts earned him a spot on the first team along with four other hurlers.
Making the second team were junior outfielder Logan Reneau, junior first baseman Adam Humes, senior second baseman Justin Snider, senior shortstop Jeff Emens and senior utility player Derek Bell.
As might be expected, Plano West dominated the individual awards, with senior Kale Kiser being named the overall MVP.
Senior outfielder Jason Coats was the Offensive Player of the Year, while junior third baseman Donald Plant shared co-Defensive Player of the Year honors with junior Alex Yarbrough, a shortstop at Allen.
West manager Kendall Clark was the Coach of the Year.
Wylie junior Jake Feckley was the Pitcher of the Year, the second-straight time the Pirate hurler has won the award. Plano junior first baseman Reid Lyness was the Newcomer of the Year.
Joining Roberson on the first-team pitching staff were Plano West senior Ben Flora, Plano junior Jaymen Parten, Allen senior Jake Bolton and Wylie senior Ryan Craighead.
The first-team outfielders were Plano senior Stewart Allen, Allen senior John Schulemeister, Wylie senior Austin Atwell and Lake Highlands senior Mike Simms.
First-team infielders were Plano West sophomore Ryan Ford (first base), Wylie senior Wade Venett (second base), Plano sophomore Brett Johnson (shortstop), Lake Highlands senior Wes Romanowski (catcher), Allen senior Body Brunk (catcher), Richardson senior Bobby Smiga (utility player) and Plano West junior Jeffrey Kahn and sophomore Matt Bass (designated hitters).
The second-team pitching staff consisted of Plano West senior Drew Johnson, Plano senior Derek Davis, Richardson sophomore Chase Weaver, L.V. Berkner senior Chris Hendrix and Lake Highlands senior Austin Busse.
Joining Reneau in the outfield were Plano West senior Ryan Hughes, Richardson junior Gary Schneider and Berkner senior Marino Stathakis.
Along with Humes, Snider, Emens and Bell, the infield had Lake Highlands junior Byron Burns (second base along with Snider), Berkner senior Drew Roland (third base), Plano West senior Tyler Bruce (catcher), Wylie junior Cameron Rice (utility player along with Bell) and Lake Highlands sophomore Cameron Bodell (designated hitter).
The Panthers opened the postseason by beating Rowlett 3-1 in the first game of a best-of-three series. They were two outs away from winning the second game, but the Eagles rallied with two runs in the bottom of the seventh for a 7-6 triumph.
The decisive game became a hitting parade, with Rowlett outlasting PESH 18-14.
District 9-5A
Baseball
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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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