Rockwall-Heath baseball is gearing up to face Smithson Valley in the UIL Class 6A State Semifinal matchup. Let's take a look at the breakdown between the teams per MaxPreps.
Rockwall-Heath Hawks
The Hawks have posted a 36-11-1 record on the season en route to the UIL State Semifinals. With a strong offense and an even stronger defense, the Hawks have been favorited to win state despite a couple of injuries to key players throughout the season.
Outscoring their opponents by 71 runs on the season, the Hawks offense is cohesive with eight athletes batting over .300. Seniors Karson Krowka (.326), Kevin Bazzell (.431), Zach Rike (.312), Kaston Maston (.371), juniors Aidan Johnson (.304), Alex Stowers (.308) and Jett Williams (.341) along with freshman Caleb Hoover (.322) should be watched in this huge matchup.
Smithson Valley Rangers
The Rangers have posted a 35-5 record on the season with impressive defensive skills. Holding their opponents to only 61 runs on the season while their offense has scored over 300 runs themselves, the Rangers will be the toughest team that Rockwall-Heath has had to face all season.
Not only is Smithson Valley good at scoring early, often, and consistently throughout their games, they have pitching depth that keeps them out of trouble. Senior Brandon Taylor has tossed 14 undefeated games while junior Tim Arguello has an 11-1 record on the bump. Arguello has also posted a .383 batting average on the year.
At the plate, the Rangers have over half the lineup that's batting over .400 to include junior Wyatt Hansen (batting .600 on the season) and freshman MJ Espinosa (batting .500 on the season).
Prediction
It will be a battle to the finish. If Rockwall-Heath's bats can overcome the firewall that is Smithson Valley's defense, they just might have what it takes to advance to the state championship game.
The semifinals matchup is set to begin at 7 p.m. Friday at Dell Diamond in Round Rock.