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• Woodlands makes amends, wins twice
• Run in sixth pushes Tomball to next round

Woodlands makes amends, wins twice

THE WOODLANDS -- The only logical explanation for the way The Woodlands played in Game 1 of its Class 5A Region II area-round series against Georgetown was alien abduction. Considering the showing the Highlanders exhibited Saturday, their performance Friday qualified as an aberration.

Looking more like the second-ranked Class 5A team in the area, The Woodlands swept two games from Georgetown at Scotland Yard to advance to the Region II-5A quarterfinals.

Buoyed by the exceptional pitching of sophomore Kyle Drabek and junior Kyle Walker, The Woodlands topped Georgetown 4-0 and 8-6 to erase memories of the Eagles' shocking 12-1 run-rule victory Friday and earn a spot opposite Cypress Falls.

"It seemed like we were pressing last night, which was uncharacteristic for us," The Woodlands coach Ron Eastman said. "I'm not sure what it was, but we didn't play like a team that went deep in the playoffs last year and had a lot of seniors. Today we did."

Drabek (4-0) was sensational in leading the Highlanders to victory in Saturday's first game and squaring the series.

After a leadoff single by Eagles starter Steven Siers, Drabek retired 16 consecutive batters, including six in a row on strikeouts before Chad Risley singled with two outs in the sixth.

The righthander allowed just two singles and three baserunners, needing 90 pitches and 90 minutes to force Game 3.

"I knew I wasn't going to let them down," Drabek said of his teammates. "It felt good."

The Highlanders (31-3) scored on an error and a passed ball in taking a 2-0 lead in the second. Catcher Danny Lehmann completed the scoring with a two-run single in the fourth.

In the series finale, Drabek delivered a solo homer to right with two outs in the first to erase the only lead Georgetown (22-13) enjoyed. The Highlanders chased starter Matt Johnson with a four-run third, then added some much needed insurance in the fourth, when Walker and Lehmann hit back-to-back homers.

The Woodlands tallied just 10 hits in the doubleheader, but had a combined 12 batters reach base after being hit by pitches or drawing walks.

Walker (6-0) capitalized on the support, allowing just two runs before tiring in the seventh. Georgetown scored four runs with two outs before Jordan Dodson closed out the series.