Texas state-ranked No. 5 Rockwall-Heath plated four runs in the seventh inning, providing enough offense to defeat Jesuit Dallas, 6-1, in game one of the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Region 2-6A Area Round on Thursday evening at Wright Field.
 
Senior Mark Ready drove in Jesuit's lone run in the sixth inning off of a sacrifice fly to right that plated senior John Guzman. Jesuit (23-13) was held to only three hits by Rockwall-Heath starting pitcher Kaden Krowka, who went the distance and struck out five Jesuit hitters. Senior Heath Vankirk fell to 7-2 on the year, striking out two but allowing six runs, five earned, on nine hits over six innings pitched.
 
The two teams played to a stalemate over the first three innings, as leadoff singles in the first and second innings from Ready and sophomore Julian Colombo, respectively, failed to produce any runs. In the fourth, Heath loaded the bases with one out in the inning, but Vankirk responded by striking out the second out and inducing an inning-ending fly out to keep the game scoreless. However, Rockwall Heath rattled off three straight singles in the top of the fifth, scoring two runs in the inning to take a 2-0 lead.
 
Senior Michael Schoettmer singled to lead off the bottom of the sixth, fighting his way back from a 1-2 count to reach base. Classmate Jake Ryan moved Guzman into scoring position after a fielder's choice, providing the opportunity for Ready to bring home Jesuit's first and only run of the game with two outs in the sixth.
 
Rockwall-Heath scored four runs on four hits in the top of the seventh to increase the lead to five, the damage done on back-to-back two-run hits by Heath's Cole Stilwell and Josh Thurman. Krowka closed the game in the bottom of the seventh by retiring the Rangers in order.
 
Jesuit will next travel to Rockwall-Heath High School for game two of the series. First pitch is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 12.