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WEB EXCLUSIVE: K Melee: Edwards fans nine to pace Eagles past Plano East, 7-2
BY Matt Welch, mwelch@starlocalnews.com
ALLEN -- Allen senior Pierce Edwards was quick to point out that he didn't have his best night on Friday.
But even what passed for Edwards being off his game was more than enough to silence the Plano East baseball team for a 7-2 victory to move the Eagles to 2-0 in District 10-5A and drop the Panthers to 0-2.
"It's just a start," said Paul Coe, Allen head coach. "We've got a long ways to go and while this is a good start, we're focused on finishing. It's a good start for us and I'm very happy."
Allen seized control in the third inning after junior Mason McWilliams belted a triple into left field that plated junior Ryan Hoogerwerf, who scored two runs on 2-of-3 hitting on the evening, for a 3-2 lead.
The Eagles didn't let up, with sophomore Kyler Murray scoring on a wild pitch in the fourth inning before Allen put the contest out of reach in the fifth stanza. Three runs were produced in that frame, two behind the bat of senior Camden Cooper, who rifled a pitch off East junior reliever Jake Hulsey into left field to score Hoogerwerf and senior Chris Balogh.
Cooper himself crossed home after junior Hayden Hans was bit by a pitch with the bases loaded to increase Allen's advantage to 7-2. Overall, the Eagles clocked nine hits off the East pitching trio of senior Ryan Boucher, Hulsey and junior Keith Long.
"It's always nice to see the bats pick up," Coe said. "The kids did well and put some good swings on some pitches. It's a compliment to our kids for how hard they work."
All the more punishing for the Panthers was that all seven runs were allowed with two outs in each inning.
Such was the evening for East, which found itself paralyzed from the plate by Edwards, who surrendered two runs on one hit alongside nine strikeouts and five walks over five innings of work.
"[Edwards] wasn't on tonight," Coe said. "He had an off-night but that's Pierce for you. He'll throw some balls up and make them chase them, he'll get his strikeouts and will give guys some bases, but overall he did a good job."
"I like to come at them with a fastball," Edwards added, "and then when I'm ahead in the count to throw a curveball, but the game plan is always just to throw strikes and get everybody out. Having some good run support from my offense helped too."
Boucher, who took the loss after hurling four innings for four runs and six hits, wasn't as fortunate with the Panthers only able to muster two hits in the setback.
Both of those came from junior James Rudkin, who went 2-of-3 and accounted for both of East's runs. The first came on a sacrifice fly that scored senior Nick Ramos for a 1-0 lead in the first inning and the second on an RBI single into left that plated senior Ryan Durham in the third inning.
On the whole, Rudkin amassed two of just five balls that were put into play by the Panthers opposite Edwards before junior Troy Chezem tossed the final two innings in relief.
The Eagles were a bit more active, stranding three on base in the first inning and then getting on the board with a two-run second stanza following a triple by Hans that scored Murray and Cooper for a 2-1 Allen lead. There would be plenty more where that came from, as the rest of the night would dictate.
"It makes you feel much more comfortable knowing you have a nice lead to work with," Edwards said. "It makes pitching out there a lot easier."
It was a welcome sight after the Eagles were limited to just three hits in a 3-2 victory over East Tuesday, but a win nonetheless as Allen opens 10-5A play at 2-0. Up next, a home tilt Tuesday at 7:30 p.m. against fellow district unbeaten Plano West awaits the Eagles while the Panthers eye their first 10-5A win that same time at McKinney.
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