Magnolia West jumped early Thursday night and shut down Lake Creek after midnight Friday.
After Game 1 of the Region III-5A championship series surpassed three hours of rain delay at Don Sanders Stadium in Huntsville, the Mustangs won 8-1 for their 11th consecutive win.
Magnolia West (25-14-1), the defending state champs, have two chances to close out Lake Creek (30-11) as Game 2 picks up at 7 p.m. Friday night at the same venue.
The Mustangs took two of three against the Lions with the same stakes on the line a year ago.
Lake Creek has dropped the series opener three straight weeks in the playoffs while Magnolia West has yet to lose a postseason game.
The Mustangs pounced early, triggered by a two-run homer by Cody Palacios in the bottom of the first.
A pair of errors in the infield preceded the two-run shot.
As Carson Dunaway rolled a ball into the middle of the infield with two runners on, Trenton Buckley, who reached via an error two batters earlier, came around to score as Dunaway was safe at first via fielder’s choice after a bad throw as the Lions tried to turn two.
With Dunaway at second, after advancing on the error, Palacios, a junior, popped a homer just beyond the left-field wall for a 3-0 lead.
After Palacios gunned down a Lions runner at the plate to end the top of the second, Magnolia West kept on the throttle in the bottom of the inning.
Trey Jeanes led off with a double and three batters later, leadoff man Dawson Park, a Texas State signee, brought home Jeanes on a two-out single to make it 4-0.
Lake Creek got on the board in the top of the fourth but left a couple more on the table. Reed Newkirk pulled an RBI triple to right field to score Leighton Scott. With runners at the corners after a hit batter, Magnolia West escaped further damage with a lineout to Buckley at second.
Lake Creek then brought up the go-ahead run in the top of the fifth, but Magnolia West, with reliever Nolan Cruz on, got out of the bases-loaded jam with a soft grounder to third.
Cruz came on with one out during the inning as starter Jayton Harral exited after 4â…“ innings and 78 pitches. He struck out three, walked three and allowed one earned run on three hits.
Those missed opportunities stung as Magnolia West’s Lukas Huff made them pay in the bottom of the fifth as he drove in two runs with a single up the middle to make it 6-1.
Park, who finished 2-for-4, added to the lead in the bottom of the sixth as he drove in his second and third RBIs on a bases-loaded single.
Cruz didn’t allow a hit over the final 2⅔ innings while walking three.
Lake Creek won both regular-season meetings between the District 21-5A rivals. The Mustangs, however, are 7-5 all-time against the Lions.
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