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The Show: Playoffs begins for Boyd, North
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
McKinney Boyd and McKinney took different paths to the playoffs, but both will share the stage when bi-district action kicks off Thursday. The Broncos, who cruised to their third-consecutive playoff appearance, will face Lake Highlands in a best-of-3 series; while North, which qualified by winning the final game of the regular season, draws a state-ranked opponent in Frisco Wakeland.
McKinney Boyd (23-7, 11-3 in District 10-5A) vs. Lake Highlands (18-11, 11-4 in District 9-5A)
Best-of-3 bi-district playoff series
Game 2: 8:00 p.m. Friday at Lake Highlands
Game 3: 12:00 p.m. Saturday at Boyd
Boyd opens what it hopes will be another lengthy playoff run with a rematch of last year's bi-district series against Lake Highlands, which it won 2-1. The Broncos advanced to the regional quarterfinals that year before losing to Jesuit.
After finishing a win shy of claiming their first district title this year, the Broncos enter the 2012 playoffs as a No. 2 seed courtesy of a 7-1 record during the second half of district and the 12-2 win over South Garland they closed the regular season with.
As shown by that win and many others like it, run production has been a strong suite for the Broncos this season. They have scored 10 or more runs 15 times and have only been shut out once – in a 5-0 loss to state-ranked Rockwall-Heath on March 9.
The Broncos offense is driven primarily by Evan Williams, who leads the team in batting average at .412 and has driven in 24 runs; Will Hollis, who has a team-high 28 RBIs in just 67 plate appearances; and Russell Williams, who is batting .390 with six doubles.
Lake Highlands drew Boyd by finishing third in its district. The Wildcats were tied with W.T. White for second heading into the regular season's final game but lost to the Longhorns, 3-2, to fall in the standings. They enter the playoffs with a 7-3 mark over their last 10 games.
Lake Highlands won its only game against a 10-5A opponent this season, beating North Garland, 6-1.
Boyd is waiting for Thursday to play its first 9-5A team.
McKinney North (18-8, 7-7 in District 10-4A) vs. Frisco Wakeland (21-8, 14-0 in District 9-4A)
Best-of-3 bi-district playoff series
Game 1: 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Carrollton Newman Smith
Game 2: 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Newman Smith
Game 3 (if necessary): 1:00 p.m. Saturday at Newman Smith
North didn't clinch a playoff spot until the final game of the regular season, and the struggle to keep its season alive will continue when it squares off against Frisco Wakeland in a best-of-3 bi-district playoff series beginning Thursday.
The Bulldogs enter the playoffs as the No. 4 seed from District 10-4A after closing district Friday with a 4-1 win against Wylie. North was tied with Wylie East for the final playoff spot heading into that contest and needed a win to guarantee a postseason slot.
Wakeland counters its opponents .500 district record with a perfect run through 9-4A after it polished off that mark with a 7-0 rout of Carrollton R.L. Turner on Friday. That undefeated run didn't come easy for the Wolverines though, as five of their district wins came by two runs or less.
Scoring runs against the Wolverines has been a struggle for most teams this season. Their rotation features a pair of aces in Hayden Nixon and Willie Schwanke, who sport ERAs of .147 and .947, respectively. Nixon has given up just one earned run in 47 innings and has 55 strikeouts to just two walks.
Their success has the Wolverines ranked as the second best Class 4A team in the state in the most recent Texas High School Baseball Coaches Association poll, behind only 2011 state finalist Corpus Christi Calallen.
Last season, the Wolverines advanced to the regional semifinals with best-of-3 series wins against Rockwall, Bryan Adams and Highland Park before being defeated by Mesquite Poteet, 10-2, in a one-game playoff.
The Bulldogs didn't make the playoffs last year after winning just one district game. Their resurgence this season began with winning back-to-back tournament titles at the Carrollton Creekview Tournament and Carrollton Diamond Classic.
North is 4-0 against 9-4A opponents this season but has played only two: Creekview and Carrollton Newman Smith. The Bulldogs beat each team twice, routing Newman Smith (11-0, 10-2) and Creekview (11-0, 6-4) in each meeting. Creekview finished third in district and Newman Smith finished seventh.
The Wolverines played only 10-4A's best, Rockwall-Heath, in a 9-4 loss.
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