Members of the Wylie baseball, including catcher Andrew Spencer and outfielder Kollier Knight (1) head to the dugout before the start of Game 1 of last week’s Region II semifinal against Whitehouse. The contest, which took place at Jesuit, saw the Pirates fall behind 6-1, only to rally late to come within a run at 6-5. They eventually lost 7-6, and the following evening Wylie fell 3-2 in a game that saw them score both runs in the final inning.

By Greg Ford
Sports Editor
[email protected]

One of best seasons in Wylie baseball history ended last Friday night in Tyler.
There, at Mike Carter Stadium, the Pirates rallied to score two runs in the top of the seventh, only to fall short 3-2 in a Class 5A Region II semifinal.
That loss, combined with a 7-6 defeat the night before at Jesuit, concluded the Pirates’ campaign, one that began during the final weeks of winter and finished with Wylie compiling a 29-4-1 record.
That included going 12-2 in District 10-5A, which earned the Pirates a No. 2 seed. After that, they went on a 6-0 postseason run, sweeping Frisco, Royse City and district foe Prosper in the bi-district, area and regional quarterfinal rounds.
The playoff run is the best by any Wylie team since the 2002 squad made the regional finals, then in Class 4A, before falling to Highland Park.
The semifinals didn’t start well for the Pirates, as the Wildcats built a 6-1 lead after five and a half innings. Then, Wylie’s resilience again went on display, as they scored four runs in the bottom of the sixth to cut Whitehouse’s lead to 6-5.
The Wildcats loaded the bases in the top of the seventh, but could muster just one run. Wylie answered that with a run of its own, Peyton Graham scored shortly after leading off with a double, but that was as close as the Pirates came.
Each team finished with 12 hits, with a quarter of Wylie’s being provided by Cole Swilley (three); Lorenzo Keck supplied two RBIs in the loss.
Nick Dayton supplied two hits and one RBI in Game 2, while also working out a pair of walks; Kollier Knight earned three walks.