COLLEYVILLE – Flower Mound Marcus coach Art Senato compares his team to a glassy-eyed boxer that just won't quit. It's a group that takes a ton of punishment but comes out standing tall in the end.
Plano East had Marcus on the verge of elimination Saturday in their best-of-3 playoff series with a 13-3 victory that was every bit the whipping the score describes.
But after a 30-minute break, staff ace Tyler Carter guided Marcus to a commanding 5-1 win in Game 3 as Senato's scrappy bunch clinched the Class 5A Region I quarterfinal series at Colleyville Heritage.
"I love baseball, and I love games like this," said Carter, who allowed seven hits and improved to 10-3 on the season. "I love being in pressure situations, and I like to win. So does our team. We're going to do whatever it takes."
Marcus will meet Odessa in the regional semifinals. Game 1 in the best-of-3 series will be Thursday in Abilene at a field yet to be determined.
Abilene looked worlds away after Plano East romped to an easy win in Game 2. Six different players scored in the first five innings as Marcus racked up four errors. Kameron Wilding and Nathan Snodgrass both had RBI hits in the seventh to put it away.
In the series finale, Marcus jumped to a 2-0 lead in the third inning when Michael Gill and Tate Baker had consecutive RBI singles. Cody Kuecker scored on Brode Boyd's single in the fourth, and Baker and Victor Guerra hit back-to-back home runs in the seventh.
