The Rockwall-Heath Hawks knocked 13 hits all across the field in their 6A state semifinal game against Smithson Valley.
The hot bats and a strong outing from junior pitcher Baylor Baumann lifted the Hawks to an 8-4 victory, setting up a date with the Keller Indians in the 6A state championship game Saturday at 4 p.m. at Dell Diamond.
“It feels great. This is everything we talk about at the beginning of the year, getting to this game with the opportunity to go play for the title now and hopefully put our best effort forward,” Heath coach Greg Harvey said. “We kind of got hot starting in the Sachse series with the bats. We changed our philosophy a little big, hitting wise, trying to swing at good pitches but keep the ball out of the air as much as possible. They stuck to it today. Thirteen hits in the semifinal game is pretty dang good.”
Heath wasted no time showing off the bats as senior shortstop Karson Krowka sent a leadoff single to left. The Hawks put two runners on in the top of the first, but no runs came across.
The Hawks took the lead in the second. Jonny Lowe, Caden Fiveash, Alex Stowers and Krowka strung together four consecutive hits and Jett Williams reached on a fielder’s choice to put Heath up 2-0. Four more hits and another hustled out fielder’s choice from the bottom half of the lineup in the third made it 5-0 in favor of Heath.
Heath’s 7-8-9 hitters—Lowe, Fiveash and Stowers—recorded three, three and two hits, respectively. Krowka also had a pair of hits at the top of the order. Lowe finished the night 3-for-4 with a double and a team-high three RBI.
“I felt good. We’ve been hitting BP and my swing’s been feeling good. I just go out there, try to get a good pitch to hit and put a barrel on it and good things will happen,” Lowe said. “Our lineup is the best lineup in the state. We’ve got it. Whoever’s up at the plate, we believe in them and they have the ability to get the job done. … Being out here in front of this crowd in this type of environment is just amazing. I love it.”
Smithson Valley sent three pitchers to the mound but none could stop the Hawks. Brandon Taylor got the start for the Rangers and pitched two innings and allowed five runs on eight hits. Jackson Elizondo tossed 3.2 relief innings, giving up three runs on four hits with three strikeouts and two walks. Dylan Domel pitched the final 1.1 innings, allowing one hit and striking out one.
Baumann kept a dangerous Smithson Valley lineup quiet for most of the contest. Heading into the seventh, Baumann held the Rangers to two hits and two runs, which were both scored in the bottom of the third. Junior centerfielder Kasen Wells drove in a run on a high fly ball to shallow left field. A 3-1 groundout from junior right fielder Tim Arguello brought in the second run.
Trailing 8-2 and down to their final three outs, the Rangers made it difficult for Heath to put the game away in the seventh. Senior second baseman Cameron Hodges singled to left to put two on after a leadoff hit by pitch. Wells drove in his second RBI on a fielder’s choice, then a pair of errors set up a RBI single to left-center by David DeHoyos.
Harvey told the Hawks “nobody panic, nobody freak out,” and to trust the lead they built. With two on and two out, Baumann came up with two huge strikeouts to seal the victory. He pitched a complete game with four hits, four runs, four walks and four strikeouts.
Heath (37-11-1) will face Keller (36-7) in the 6A state championship game Saturday at 4 p.m. at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.
“We’re going to take BP, we’re going to take our ground balls and basically just go do what we do,” Harvey said. “We don’t change our process. We don’t talk about who we’re going to play. It’s just a matter of going out and competing and playing our best baseball and if we do, we like our chances.”
