Last season, Waxahachie (27-11) would have relied on Tori Banda to pitch all the games in this week's best-of-3 4A Region II semifinal series against McKinney North (26-7-2). But that's not the case anymore.

"We got her a little help," coach Joni Vaughan said.

Senior Andi Allen has been more than a complement to Banda after sitting out last season because of her transfer from Italy. She is 13-5-1 with a 1.40 ERA and 132 strikeouts. Last week, she pitched a three-hit shutout in a decisive Game 3 against Red Oak.

"She is just being a dominant pitcher for us this year," Vaughan said.

For the first time this season, junior third baseman Taylor Hoagland batted in the leadoff spot for Flower Mound (26-6-2) in Game 3 against Colleyville Heritage.

Hoagland, who has committed to Texas, went 2-for-2 with two home runs, two walks and three RBIs. Coach Wendy Massey said it worked so well that she might do it again against Weatherford (26-10) in the best-of-3 5A Region I semifinals.

Massey said she made the move because her leadoff hitters weren't getting on base, and opponents weren't pitching to Hoagland. Hoagland has 14 walks in five playoff games and is 6-for-9 with four home runs and eight RBIs.

"You put her in the front of the lineup," Massey said, "and more likely they're going to pitch to her."

In preseason, Ashliegh McLean heard her team's detractors say McKinney North, a state semifinalist last year, wouldn't make it far in the playoffs without a big-time pitcher.

The senior pitcher took it all in and used it as motivation to work harder and get better, "so when the season got here, I could prove them wrong," she said.

The North Central Texas College signee led McKinney North (26-7-2) to the District 9-4A title and to a regional semifinals berth against Waxahachie (27-11).

In the playoffs, she is 3-1 with a 2.30 ERA and 19 strikeouts.

"She's not a big stat pitcher," coach Dan Sedgwick said. "But she does what she has to do to get the win."

Royse City coach James Bain said he doesn't remember whether his team won a game in its last at-bat during the regular season.

But that's the way Royse City has won three of its six playoff victories. Dezy Arredondo drove in Sarah Stutts for Game 2 victories against Celina and Prosper. Devani Harrison also pushed in Shelby Pille in Game 3 of the Celina series.

"We have a team that doesn't give up," Bain said. "Somebody is going to get the job done."

Thanks to those heroics, Royse City (27-7) advanced to the Class 3A regional semifinals for the first time. It faces Longview Spring Hill (27-11-1) in a best-of-3 series.