Game of the day

Rockwall-Heath and Rockwall have had quite a rivalry in baseball in recent years, with Heath winning the Class 6A state title in 2021 after beating Rockwall in three games in a regional final. They met in the same round in 2022, with Heath again winning in three games en route to a state semifinal appearance.

Last year, both teams were regional semifinalists. They renewed their rivalry Tuesday night, and it was once again an intense battle that went down to the wire.

Landon Ammerman pitched a three-hitter to lead Rockwall-Heath to a 2-1 win in the District 10-6A opener for both teams. Ammerman didn’t allow a base runner over the final three innings and won a duel with Rockwall starter Keller Lindeman, who allowed just two hits.

Rockwall (10-4-2), ranked No. 7 in the Dallas area, took a 1-0 lead in the top of the fourth as Jake Overstreet was hit by a pitch leading off, was sacrificed to second, went to third on a groundout and scored on a two-out RBI single by Hudson Holt. Sixth-ranked Rockwall-Heath (12-7) took a 2-1 lead in the bottom of the fifth as a two-out RBI single by Parker Ivy scored Drew Smith and Austin Owens scored on a wild pitch.

Spotlight

Ava Feragotti led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk, advanced to second on a groundout and scored the winning run on an error as No. 3 Frisco Lone Star beat No. 7 Frisco Wakeland 7-6 in a matchup of area-ranked 5A softball teams.

It was the seventh consecutive win for Lone Star (14-5), which has outscored the opposition 81-16 during the winning streak. Alyson Smith was 1-for-3 with two RBIs and Bri Stokes was 2-for-4 and scored a run as Lone Star rallied from deficits of 2-0, 4-3 and 6-5. Lone Star tied it 6-6 in the bottom of the fifth when Serenity Smith scored on a wild pitch.

Monday/Tuesday standouts

Baseball

Logan Corley, Lovejoy: He earned the win by allowing just three hits and striking out 14 in 6 2/3 scoreless innings in a 1-0 win over Melissa. Corley also drove in the game’s only run, getting hit by a pitch with two outs and the bases loaded in the top of the seventh to score Asher Lacy. Aarren Marshall got a popout for the final out with runners on first and second to earn the save for Lovejoy, the No. 5 team in the 5A-others area rankings.

Romel Garcia, Arlington Martin: His two-out RBI single in the top of the seventh scored Cohl McCoy with the winning run as the area’s fourth-ranked 6A team beat South Grand Prairie 6-5. McCoy finished 2-for-4 with two runs and an RBI as Martin escaped with the win after SGP rallied from a 5-1 deficit to tie it 5-5. Bryson Bentley pitched a complete game for Martin and got a fielder’s choice to end it with runners at first and second.

Mason Nguyen, Mansfield Lake Ridge: He allowed one hit and one run while striking out 11 in six innings as the area’s eighth-ranked 6A team beat Duncanville 8-5. Matthew Millet was 3-for-4 with a double, triple, one run and three RBIs for Lake Ridge (8-4-1, 1-0 District 11-6A). Duncanville scored four runs off of the Lake Ridge bullpen in the top of the seventh and left the bases loaded.

Trevor Berquist, Mansfield: He pitched a one-hit shutout and struck out eight as the area’s ninth-ranked 6A team beat Mansfield Legacy 4-0 in the District 11-6A opener. The only hit he allowed was a second-inning single, and he retired 16 of the last 18 hitters he faced.

Alex D’Angelo and Johnny Malchow, Argyle: They combined on a three-hitter as the state’s fifth-ranked 5A team beat Lake Dallas 7-2. Argyle (9-2-2, 1-0 District 7-5A), ranked No. 1 in the Dallas area, got three hits and an RBI from Nathaniel Bruce and two RBIs from TCU pledge Grady Emerson.

Benjamin Sheppard, Forney: He allowed one run and struck out 11 in six innings as the area’s 10th-ranked 5A-others team beat Terrell 6-1 and improved to 13-3-1 with its sixth consecutive win.

Softball

Erin Peterson, Denton Guyer: The Texas State signee was 2-for-3 with a triple and four RBIs as the state’s fifth-ranked 6A team beat McKinney Boyd 7-2. Guyer (18-1, 3-0 District 5-6A), the state runner-up last year and ranked No. 24 in the nation by MaxPreps this season, got two hits and three runs from Lauryn Jones and two hits and two runs from Oregon signee Kaylynn Jones.

Jernie Nerio, South Grand Prairie: She pitched a five-inning perfect game and struck out the first 13 batters she faced in a 12-0 win over rival Grand Prairie. Nerio finished with 14 strikeouts, and Jade Evans was 2-for-2 with a home run and three RBIs.

Alex Starr, Melissa: The Michigan State pledge struck out 13 and allowed one hit in five innings to lead the state’s third-ranked 5A team to an 11-0 win over Greenville. Emily Johnson was 4-for-4 and scored three runs as Melissa — ranked No. 23 in the nation by MaxPreps — improved to 19-1-1, with its only loss coming against Class 6A Plano East. Melissa has beaten one state-ranked team (Southlake Carroll) and five area-ranked teams (Rockwall, Plano West, South Grand Prairie, Frisco Lone Star and Frisco Reedy).

Kaycee Slovak, Ennis: She hit a grand slam and triple while amassing six RBIs as the state’s 18th-ranked 5A team routed Lancaster 21-0 in three innings. Ennis scored 14 runs in the first inning, and Breona Benavidez and Callie Richardson combined on a no-hitter, with Richardson also driving in four runs.

Sadie Beck, Keller: The Tarleton State signee pitched a six-hitter and struck out nine to lead the area’s second-ranked 6A team to a 3-1 win over Southlake Carroll, ranked No. 16 in the state. Beck has struck out 38 over her last three games. Mackenna Jackson’s two-out RBI single in the bottom of the third gave Keller a 1-0 lead, and Carley Genzer hit a two-out solo home run in the fourth to extend the lead to 2-0. Carroll cut its deficit to 2-1 on an RBI single by Scarlett Kuhn in the top of the sixth, but Beck stranded the tying run at second base in that inning and then worked around a one-out single in the seventh.

Sammie Pham, Colleyville Heritage: She struck out 10 and allowed just two hits as the area’s second-ranked 5A team beat Argyle 5-3 in eight innings. Pham led off the top of the eighth with a single and scored the go-ahead run on a fielder’s choice. Graci Green hit a solo home run with two outs in the fifth to help Heritage (15-8, 3-0 District 7-5A) build a 3-0 lead before Argyle scored three runs in the bottom of the sixth. Colleyville Heritage is coming off a run to the 5A state semifinals last season.

Abby Jennings, Plano West: She was 3-for-4 with a double, three runs and three RBIs as the area’s sixth-ranked 6A team beat Lewisville 12-1. Plano West (15-5-1) is 6-0-1 in its last seven games and is 3-0 in District 6-6A.

Brynlie Dunkin, Aubrey: She pitched a four-inning no-hitter and struck out five, and she went 2-for-2 with a home run and five RBIs in a 16-0 victory against Mesquite Poteet. Aubrey (15-3), a Class 4A state semifinalist last season, won for the 10th time in its last 11 games. Tamia Cherry went 3-for-3 with a double, triple, three runs and three RBIs for Aubrey, ranked No. 11 in the state.

Ryann Rivero, Mansfield: She hit a walk-off RBI double with two outs in the bottom of the eighth to score CC Thompson and give Mansfield a 4-3 win over Mansfield Lake Ridge, ranked No. 3 in the area in 6A. Lake Ridge was one out from victory when a two-out error with the bases loaded in the bottom of the seventh allowed two runs to score as Mansfield tied it 3-3.

Joleigh Richards, Midlothian Heritage: She was 4-for-4 with a double, home run, two runs and five RBIs in a 24-3 rout of Mansfield Summit. Heritage had 10 extra-base hits, and Ava Robinson and Hannah Moon also homered. Robinson and Moon were a combined 6-for-7 with five runs and nine RBIs.

Top ticket

Defending Class 6A baseball state champion Flower Mound will open District 6-6A play on Wednesday when it hosts rival Flower Mound Marcus at 7 p.m. Flower Mound (14-3), ranked No. 1 in the state, has won 12 of its last 13 games and has a lineup that includes Division I signees Sam Erickson (Texas A&M), Zane Becker (Arkansas), Adrian Rodriguez (Texas A&M), Zack James (TCU), Garrett Wallace (Louisiana Tech) and Josh Glaser (Texas State).

Flower Mound has already won a rematch of last year’s state championship game, beating Pearland 4-2 on March 7.

With it being Spring Break, several area-ranked baseball teams are playing Wednesday this week.

In 6A, No. 2 Prosper hosts No. 5 Denton Guyer at 7:30 p.m., No. 3 Allen plays at McKinney Boyd at 7:30 and No. 10 Keller hosts Northwest Eaton at 7 p.m.

In 5A, No. 2 Grapevine hosts Colleyville Heritage at 7 p.m., No. 3 Frisco plays at Carrollton R.L. Turner at 7:30 and No. 8 Frisco Wakeland plays at Frisco Lone Star at 7:30.

Stat sheet

13

Runs scored in the first inning by the Frisco Reedy softball team in a 17-0 win over Carrollton Newman Smith. Malaina Boyst was 2-for-3 with two doubles, two runs and three RBIs, Mady Kulp had two hits, two runs and two RBIs and Paige Sommers struck out six in three scoreless innings.

Photos: No. 5 Denton Guyer softball powers past McKinney Boyd

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