The Plano East bats chose the wrong time to go cold (is there a right time?).
I suspect Rockwall is one of the best 4th place teams in the state -- and they proved it. Congratulations to the Jackets.
Last night was an electric atmosphere. Rockwall brought a huge crowd and East had a great turnout. The game was delayed 90 minutes due to another infield flood -- ironic. By game time at 8:30, the crowd was ready to support their teams in full force. I've said this before, but Rockwall is a class act -- and I'm proud of our fans last night, despite our poor showing on the field.
We decided to start our senior, despite his throwing 30 pitches the night before. He was a key ingredient in our success this year and pitched well against Rockwall in Duncanville and on Thursday night. We hoped to get 4-5 innings before using the bullpen. It didn't work out in this situation, but it's very easy for all of us to coach in hindsight, eh? I support Coach Collins in his decisions.
Now that we're done, I want to congratulate Plano East -- the District 9 Champions. Kudos to our seniors for helping us get back to the playoffs for the first time since 2003. Kudos to Coach Collins for his first out-right district title and to his assistant Reagan Allen. Congratulations to Clayton Farhat, our team MVP & Angelo State signee....Chris Slater (Baylor signee), East's first 4-year player and an awesome kid....Blake Bostwick, Michael Chase, and Logan Thomas (Hill College signee), the anchors to our pitching staff throughout the 23-6 season (with 3 1-run losses)....Clay Thomas and Josh Reed (Central Methodist U) - two consistent senior leaders....and Collin Goodloe, our oft-injured senior SS, who will be missed. As you know, subs play a key role in team chemistry. All in all, it was a great year.
Our juniors are anxious to pick up the torch and repeat in 2008. Four starters will return and there will be good depth. All 3 sub-varsity teams came within a cancelled game or two of 20 wins.
Now I can watch the playoffs from a different perspective. I can't say I'm glad about that....but I'm a HS baseball fan!
