ROUND ROCK — Jake Thompson and Jovan Hernandez understandably get the headlines for Rockwall-Heath, excelling at the plate and on the mound.
But it isn’t a two-player team.
“Those guys are awesome — the catalysts of our team,” senior third baseman Grayson Lewis said. “But we definitely have other guys on our team that have been helping a lot, too. It’s like a puzzle. They are the big pieces, and we just kinda fill in around them.”
Lewis and junior outfielder Russell Hughes were great examples of that in Heath’s 6-3 win over Montgomery in the 4A state semifinal at Dell Diamond.
Lewis went 3-for-4, scored three runs and drove in one.
“He’s always on base,” Hughes said. “I get a chance to drive him in, or move him over.”
Hughes hit a key two-run double in the third, smacking a pitch off the wall in left-center — which scored Jake Bledsoe and Lewis nearly in tandem, split-seconds apart.
“All the way, up and down the lineup, 1 through 9, you can look through our playoff run and can see different guys that have come up big in those games,” Heath coach Greg Harvey said. “And today was just another example of that.”
Lewis, batting in the No. 7 hole, is the hottest hitter going for Heath. He hit .666 in the regional final series against Frisco Wakeland, and he didn’t cool down at state — getting three singles in his first three at-bats.
Hughes isn’t far behind, batting .480 in the postseason with 10 RBIs.
“We’ve got a great team,” Hughes said. “Even with Jake and Jovan hitting at the top, we’ve still got a great powerhouse down at the bottom.”
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