Three Rockwall runs in the bottom of the fifth inning broke a scoreless tie as the Yellow Jackets captured a 5-2 victory in game one of the University Interscholastic League (UIL) Region 2-6A Area Round series on Thursday at Rockwall H.S. The two teams will square off on Friday at Wright Field as Jesuit faces a must-win scenario for the second straight week.
 
Junior Jalon Mack went 1-for-3 with an RBI as Jesuit racked up eight hits on Rockwall starting pitcher Jeremie Bomer but left six runners stranded. Hits were recorded by seniors Caden Carlson, Jack Lynch, Garrett Reuben and Jaden Woodson, juniors Tanner Jones and Tyson Pointer, and sophomore Connor Chavez. Junior Ryan Messick threw five innings, struck out four and allowed five runs, two earned, on four hits. Senior Ben Shepherd added an inning of scoreless relief, running his postseason shutout streak to 5.2 innings.
 
Jesuit scored the first run of the game in the top of the second as Lynch recorded Jesuit's first hit of the game with a single through the right side. Reuben added a single to right to put Lynch into scoring position before Jones reached on a line drive down the left field line that was mishandled by the Rockwall third-baseman, providing the opening for Lynch to score.
 
Rockwall would add two runs in the bottom of the second, scoring two runs on two hits in the frame as Barrett Rose knocked two runs in with a two-out double to right center. Rockwall seemed poised to score another run, but Reuben fired a strike to Pointer to end the inning with a play at the plate. Jesuit tied the game with a pair of two-out hits as Mack singled down the right field line to drive in Woodson, who laced a line drive over the head of the Rockwall shortstop for his first hit of the series.
 
In the fourth, Jesuit put runners at the corners with one out but were unable to score. Jesuit put a runner at third in the top of the fifth but again were unable to plate the go-ahead run. The Yellow Jackets, aggressive on the base paths throughout the night, took the lead in the bottom of the fifth by taking advantage of a passed ball, wild pitch and error to notch three runs despite not recording a hit in the inning.
 
Looking to rally late in the contest, Lynch forced an inning-opening walk in the sixth inning. However, Rockwall used a 1-6-3 double play to quickly take out the threat before closing out the inning. Caden reached first with one out in the seventh, but the Rangers were unable to battle their way back into the contest before Rockwall shut the door.
 
Friday's game has been moved up to a 7 p.m. first pitch from Wright Field on the Jesuit Dallas campus. The Rangers have already faced a one-game deficit this postseason against Sachse, a deficit that saw the Rangers battle back and win the series in three games.