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Complete Forecast for  Jul 24 2008

By CHRIS PARRY
Staff Writer

ROWLETT — Strikeouts are not necessary to dominate a game.

That is what Robert E. Lee learned the hard way Saturday in a 3-0 loss to Rowlett. Coupled with an 8-1 win over Lee on Friday, the Eagles swept the best-of-three Class 5A Region II area playoff series.

Eagles senior Andrew Smith went the distance, inducing 13 groundouts and eight fly outs.

Lee senior Andrew Snodgrass singled up the middle in the second inning. That turned out to be important because it was the only hit the Red Raiders managed against Smith.

The Red Raiders completed their season as bi-district champions with a 19-10 record. Rowlett (31-1-2) moves on to face Allen in the regional quarterfinals.

REL and Rowlett were deadlocked at 0-0 until the fifth inning as both Andrew Smith and Lee starter Burch Smith benefited from the winds blowing in.

Senior Jeremy Olson thought he had an extra-base hit off Smith in the second, only for the wind to turn it into a routine fly out to right. REL head coach Mike Pirtle said Olson’s fly out was one of many unfortunate outcomes for Lee hitters in the loss.

“We hit some very good balls into the wind and they hit the one ball that got up in the wind,” Pirtle said.

That “ball” eventually flew over the left-field wall for a solo homer. It was the first hit that Lee senior Burch Smith had allowed to that point.

Rowlett added two more runs on two singles in the sixth, and Andrew Smith made it stand up.

“We didn’t get many people on and I thought if we had got some people on, I thought we had a real legitimate chance of beating these guys today,” Pirtle said. “We just kept hitting balls right at them, on the nose, but that is part of this game.”

Burch Smith is now 1-1 in the playoffs against Rowlett. After stopping the Eagles last season, the senior gave up three earned runs on four hits with two walks and three strikeouts.

Lee threatened in the top of the second. Junior Colin Moore drew a lead-off walk and Snodgrass singled up the middle with one out. A double play ended the threat and Lee never got anyone else on base.

Rowlett grew equally frustrated with Burch Smith as he baffled them through four innings.

In the bottom of the fifth, Rowlett’s Drew Mayhall connected on what appeared to be a double to left. But once the ball got up into the wind, it continued to carry for a solo home run.

In the sixth, Rowlett’s Brandon Loy led off with a single and scored on an RBI single from Mayhall. Reed Graham waked and eventually came home on a double steal to make it 3-0. Lee had one chance left, but like had happened in every inning since the second, the Red Raiders went down in order with a pop up to short and consecutive groundouts.

“I am real proud of these kids; they’ve come a long ways,” Pirtle said. “A lot of these kids played on the JV last year and we didn’t have a whole lot of (varsity) experience, so it was a learning curve early.

“We had some real smart kids that worked hard and I am real pleased with their efforts.”

Lee says goodbye to 13 seniors: Will Evers, Joseph Cleaver, Edgar Butron, Blake Barnes, Jeremy Olson, Logan Henderson, Tyler Reed, Bryan Boyd, Andrew Snodgrass, Barrett Hunt, Kevin Marshall, Blake Huffman and Burch Smith.

———

Class 5A Region II Area Playoff

Game 2

Rowlett 3, Robert E. Lee 0

Robert E. Lee 000 000 0 — 0 1 2

Rowlett 000 012 x — 3 4 0

Burch Smith, Blake Huffman (6) and Colin Moore; Andrew Smith and Tyler Applequist. W — Applequist. L — Smith. HR — R: Drew Mayhall (fifth inning, solo).

RECORDS

— Robert E. Lee 19-10, Rowlett 31-1-12.

NEXT UP

— Lee’s season complete; Rowlett vs. Allen, Class 5A Region II quarterfinals.