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Plano ace makes early lead stand up in 2-0 win over Guyer

Rice signee McCarthy throws five-hit shutout to win pitchers’ duel

ALLEN — Denton Guyer won the coin flip for a one-game playoff and had its ace pitcher on the mound Friday night. The conditions for an upset were perfect.

But so was Plano pitcher Ryan McCarthy. The senior was close to perfect, anyway, as he shut down Guyer for seven innings in Plano’s 2-0 victory in a Class 5A bidistrict matchup.

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“He was at his best tonight,” Plano coach Rick Robertson said with a smile.

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McCarthy, who has signed with Rice, gave his coach a reason to smile — and relax — in a showdown of ace pitchers. McCarthy allowed only five hits and struck out seven to outduel Guyer’s Jacob Rhame, an Oklahoma signee.

Rhame allowed only six hits, but that was enough for Plano (25-6) to advance to a matchup against the winner of South Grand Prairie and Grapevine. Plano scored its only runs in the second inning when Max Negoslawski hit a two-out single that scored Eric Gilsap and Joey Kaufman.

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“That was huge,” Robertson said. “He’s had some big hits for us, but none bigger than that one.”

McCarthy took care of the rest against Denton Guyer (12-17-1), which put runners in scoring position in the third, fifth and seventh innings. Guyer appeared to score a run in the third when Cole Wessling tagged up at third on a fly ball, but the umpire ruled that Wessling left the base early.

McCarthy walked a pair of batters in the seventh, but as Plano relievers warmed up, he doused Guyer’s hopes by striking out the final two hitters. McCarthy said he was nervous early in the game, but getting a lead helped.

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“When we got those early runs,” he said, “I just wanted to put the team on my back.”