Texarkana beat Heath, 7-4, Thursday night in Texarkana.

Stunning because the run-rule caused the game to end after just five innings.

Heath (27-10) commited three errors in the second, leading to a seven-run inning, including Slade Heathcott’s two-run homer, which gave Texas a 7-0 lead. The visitors tacked on two more in the third and three in the fifth.

John Branum and Drew VerHagen were the only two normally hard-hitting Heath players who managed hits off Texas starter Josh Turley.

Although the Hawks were eliminated from the playoffs, their baseball program has exceeded what they expected to do since the high school opened just three short years ago. The program has already turned out 10 major college recruits and seems primed for more success next season.

“I really believe that we’ve set a mark now that we’re going to achieve every single year,” said Hawks’ head baseball coach .

“Fourth [playoff] round and beyond, that’s our goal.”

“We have the talent coming back to be just as good, if not better.”

TEXARKANA-Rockwall-Heath scored three runs in the first inning but couldn’t keep the lead as they fell to Texarkana, 7-4, Thursday night in the first of their best-of-three game Class 4A Region II semi-final series.

Texarkana High scored a run in each of the first three innings to tie the score; then added two runs in the fifth and two runs in the sixth to win.

The normally hard-hitting Hawks had only five hits, and were led by center fielder Matt Bielski, who was 2-for-4 with two runs scored.

Jovan Hernandez pitched a complete game, but his record fell to 3-1.

The second game is tonight at 7:30 pm at Rockwall-Heath.

In the other semi-final series, McKinney North beat Hallsville, 2-1. The winner of this series will play the winner of the Heath-Texarkana series for the Class 4A Region II championship next week.

Rockwall-Heath’s mighty Hawks baseball team (27-8) will take on Texarkana in a Class 4A Region II semi-final best-of-three game series begining Thursday at 7:30 pm at Texarkana High School.

Their second game will be Friday at 7:30 pm at Rockwall-Heath. If a third game is necessary, it will be played Saturday at 8 pm at Northeast Texas Community College in Mt. Pleasant TX.

The Hawks earned the right to play in the semi-finals by sweeping Highland Park last Thursday and Friday nights, 17-10 and 5-1, behind the home-run hitting of U. of Oklahoma recruit Drew VerHagen and pitching of ace James Baune.

The Hawks (27-8) had finished the District 10A regular season in second place, one game behind Rockwall, but have won three straight playoff games over North Dallas and then Highland Park.

Texarkana Texas High School swept a two game series last week from Mesquite Poteet to advance to the semi-final.

The other semi-final series this weekend will pit Hallsville against McKinneyNorth, which knocked Rockwall out of the playoffs.

The winner of this series will meet in the Rockwall-Heath/Texarkana winner in the Class 4A Region II championship game at a date and time soon to be scheduled.