Baseball: 12-run inning lifts The Woodlands

AUSTIN, Texas – What started out as a pitcher’s duel came to an abrupt halt and The Woodlands High School baseball team outslugged Rockwall 12-5 on Friday in the first game of a best-of-three Region II-5A finals series at UFCU Disch-Faulk Field on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin

The Highlanders (35-3) go for the sweep at 1 p.m. Saturday. A third game, if necessary, would follow.

The Woodlands starter Ryan Burnett was cruising along, retiring the first 14 batters he faced before walking a batter with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning. It opened the door for Rockwall (33-8) to score three runs in the inning, breaking a scoreless tie between two left-handers.

But the Highlanders sent 17 batters to the plate in the top of the sixth inning and answered with a 12-run inning.

Chris Andritsos got things started when he narrowly missed his 14th homer of the season, banging a line drive off the right-field fence for a two-run double that narrowed the gap to 3-2. Andritsos later crossed the plate on an error to tie the game.

Carter Hope followed with a two-run double to give the Highlanders a 5-3 lead. Luke Sherley dropped down a perfect bunt that the Yellow Jackets misplayed allowing both Hope and Joshua Pruitt to score and make it 7-3. Alex Dunlap lifted a sacrifice fly to increase the lead to 8-3 before Andritsos delivered an RBI single and a 9-3 lead.

But before the inning ended, Blaine Gillespie, Josh Shaw and Pruitt all added RBI-singles for a 12-3 advantage.

"That's a hit parade if I've ever seen one," was the postgame tweet from Hillin Warren, who had a hit and scored twice. "Lets finish this up tomorrow boys."

Andritsos led The Woodlands’ 10-hit attack with three (3-for-4) of his own. The sophomore first baseman also drove in three runs and scored twice. Shaw added two hits (2-for-3).

Burnett (14-1) is 5-0 in the postseason with five complete-game efforts. Over that span the left-hander has struck out 52 batters, including 10 on Friday, while allowing just nine runs on 15 hits over 35 innings pitched.

The Highlanders have won 11 consecutive games, including all eight postseason games, and have won 14 of their last 15 games.