Pirates Face Plano East to Determine Third Playoff Seed
By Shiela K. Haynes
WYLIE (April 23, 2008) – The Pirates
smoked Lake Highlands 8-1 on Tuesday in the regular season finale. The win raised Wylie’s district record to 8-6 and confirmed their spot in the playoffs. However, there is still a bit of unfinished business.
Wylie meets Plano East at 7 p.m. Friday at Allen High School to determine final playoff seeding. The winner will represent District 9-5A as the third seed and the loser will face District 10-5A champ Rowlett in the bi-district round.
Plano West capped a perfect 28-0 season (14-0 district record) with a 6-1 win over Berkner. The loss eliminated the Rams from playoff contention.
Allen (9-5) claims a second-place finish after they defeated Plano East 6-1.
The slumping Panthers fall to 8-6 on the season. They have lost their last four games, three district games and one non-district contest.
The Pirates walked through their own darkness in the first half of the season. They had posted a 2-5 record after the first pass through the district schedule. All of those losses came by narrow margins, but most observers believed their season was virtually over. The coaches and players could have given up, but instead they battled back to post a 6-1 record in the second half of the season.
Coach Dustin Toth said, “Everybody counted us out. Not a single person thought we would be in the playoffs except the kids. They’re the only ones who believed, and that’s all that counts.”
Senior Wade Venett expressed how the squad was feeling during those dark days. The team weathered the storm together with team dinners and team-building exercises and they kept on encouraging one another.
“We had no luck whatsoever. In baseball, you can’t give up. We knew the season wasn’t over. We had the talent. It was just a matter of time,” said Venett.
He added, “I don’t want to be satisfied to be in the playoffs. We want to win.”
