Rockwall-Heath stays hot, advances by Smithson Valley in Class 6A state semifinals
Jonny Lowe went 3 for 4 with three RBI and Rockwall-Heath registered 13 hits overall as the Hawks beat Smithson Valley, 8-4, in a UIL Class 6A state semifinal game Friday at Dell Diamond.
Heath (37-11-1) is in the tournament for the first time since winning the program’s only title in 2012. It beat Cleburne, 10-1, to win the Class 4A title.
The Hawks will face Keller (36-7) for the championship at 4 p.m. Saturday at Dell Diamond.
After a scoreless first inning by both teams, Heath opened the flood gates with two runs in the top of the second inning and three more in the third.
Lowe had a one-out single and Caden Fiveash followed with a double to left. Alex Stowers drove in Lowe with a single to short and Fiveash scored on a fielder’s choice from Jett Williams to make it 2-0.
Heath loaded the bases before the first out in the third and Lowe singled in Kaston Mason to grow the lead to 3-0. Fiveash drove in Zach Rike with an RBI fielder’s choice and Stowers singled in Caleb Hoover to make it 5-0.
Smithson Valley responded with two in the bottom of the third to cut the lead to 5-2, but Heath extended the margin to 8-2 with three runs in the sixth.
An RBI from Hoover and two-run double down the left field line from Lowe gave the Hawks a six-run advantage. Smithson Valley added two runs in the seventh.
Fiveash went 3 for 4 with an RBI and run scored for the Hawks. Stowers and Karson Krowka each picked up two hits. Seven different Hawks had a hit.
Starting pitcher Baylor Baumann (8-3) pitched a complete game allowing four hits, two earned runs with four walks and four strikeouts.
