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Quarter of the Way There: McKinney, Boyd prep for regional quarterfinals
Photo courtesy of John Tyler of buzzzphotos.com
By Andrew Snyder, asnyder@starlocalnews.com
Familiarity has bred nothing but respect between McKinney and Rockwall, its opponent in the regional quarterfinals.
The teams have already played twice this season in a District 10-4A series the Lady Yellowjackets swept, 3-1 and 8-2. Those games, plus the two they lost to Rockwall in 2011, have the Lionettes well aware of how good a team they now face.
“They're tough to beat,” said Jeremy Greenway, McKinney head coach, after Friday's series-clinching win against Dallas Hillcrest. “You have to play well. What's nice about them is that if you win, you earned it.”
From that point on, there was no touching Rockwall.
The Lady Yellowjackets rattled off 12 straight wins to amass a 13-1 district record and win their second consecutive 10-4A championship. They had a plus-97 run differential against district opponents and won six games by 10 or more runs.
The only aberration during that dominant run, glaring though it may be, was an 8-7 win over last-place Wylie East, which lost six district games by 10 or more runs and won just two in the inverse of Rockwall's season.
But the Lady Yellowjackets recovered quickly to close the regular season with more decisive wins over McKinney North, 7-1, and Richardson Pearce, 14-4, before doing what No. 1 seeds are meant to in the bi-district round and bouncing Frisco Centennial in a tidy two-game sweep.
The Lady Yellowjackets progressed through the area-round with even greater ease, dispatching of Seagoville in a 21-1 blowout, to reach the regional quarterfinals for the fourth consecutive season. Last year, they were swept by Frisco Centennial in the regional quarterfinals.
Looking over Rockwall's resume has the Lionettes ready for a significant step-up in competition from the area round, where they cruised to a series sweep of Dallas Hillcrest (17-0, 13-0) after opening the playoffs with a come-from-behind effort against Carrollton Creekiew.
McKinney fell behind Creekview with a 3-0 loss in Game 1 before rallying behind the pitching of sophomore Chelsea Thomas to win back-to-back games (2-1, 6-2) and take the series. She went on to throw her third no-hitter of the year in Game 1 against Hillcrest.
Thomas will now face a Rockwall lineup that hit her hard in their last meeting, knocking her out after just two innings on four hits and five runs, though six errors from her teammates did nothing to help the struggling pitcher.
McKinney totaled 12 errors in the 8-2 loss.
The Lionettes fared better in their first game against Rockwall, losing 3-1 after ceding an early lead.
They faced a different pitcher each time they played the Lady Yellowjackets – going against Emily Cowan in the first game and Kayla Vandergriff, who has logged the most innings, in the second.
The fact that McKinney and Rockwall are facing one another at all says something about the quality of their district. Three of four playoff teams from 10-4A remain, as Wylie will take on Frisco Wakeland in a one-game playoff Friday.
At least one team will be heading home this week though, and it will take the Lionettes first win over Rockwall to ensure it isn't them.
McKinney (22-15) vs Rockwall (18-9)
Best-of-3 regional quarterfinals playoff series
Game 1: 7:00 p.m. Friday at Allen
Game 2: 11:00 p.m. Saturday at Allen
Game 3: 2:00 p.m. Saturday at Allen (if needed)
This season just keeps getting better for the Lady Broncos.
After splitting a pair of close games to push its area-round playoff series with Mesquite to a decisive Game 3, the McKinney Boyd softball team swung things their way on Saturday with a comfortable 7-3 win.
The Lady Skeeters proved to be the most difficult opponent Boyd had faced in a few months, as they broke up the Lady Broncos' 17-game winning streak with a 2-0 win in extra innings in Game 1. Consider that game an adjustment period, as Boyd went on to win back-to-back games and advance to the regional quarterfinals for the first time in program history.
Making history has become a habit for Boyd, which made its first playoff appearance and won its first playoff game last season. They followed that up this season by winning their first district championship, and they're now in the midst of the deepest playoff run they've ever made.
To add another mark to the record book, the Lady Broncos will now have to get past Temple.
The Lady Wildcats advanced to the regional quarterfinals with a 7-2 area-round win against Garland, who committed eight errors on the night. Temple pitcher Lexi Smith picked up the win from the circle, allowing five hits, no earned runs and striking out 10 in a complete-game performance.
Sharing the Lady Owls as a mutual opponent is just about the only point of contact between Boyd and Temple. The Lady Broncos swept Garland in two district meetings this season, 11-1 and 1-0, as part of their perfect district campaign.
McKinney Boyd (29-6) vs Temple (18-6)
One-game regional quarterfinal playoff
Game 1: 7:30 p.m. Friday at Midlothian
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