Plano West Edges Crosstown Rival Plano in Thrilling Late-Game Finish

Ty Gildea robbed what could have been a momentum-swinging hit, and then Plano West ended it on a double play. The Wolves defeated crosstown rival Plano 6-3 Tuesday, closing out one of Collin County's most charged high school baseball rivalries with a late-game sequence that gave the sparse crowd along Preston Road something to talk about into the night.

The game came down to its final moments. Plano threatened to pull closer, but a highlight-reel robbery in the outfield kept the Wildcats at bay before a game-ending double play closed the door and secured Plano West's three-run margin.

The two programs share more than a zip code. Both pull from the same dense stretch of north Plano neighborhoods, and wins in this matchup carry outsized weight in school hallways and on travel-ball circuits. Tuesday's finish only amplified that.

At the center of the win were two uncommitted 2027 prospects whose college recruiters will be watching tape from this game closely. Parker Scott, a right-handed pitcher from Plano West, stands 6 feet tall and travels with the 5 Star Performance DFW 2027 squad. He and Gildea are among a young Wolves core that has already drawn the attention of prospect evaluators ahead of their junior seasons.

Plano West has shown a knack for close-game grit this spring, winning earlier outings against Braswell 4-3, Royse City 3-2, and Wylie East 5-0. Tuesday's 6-3 result fits that pattern: a team that finds ways to win when the margin is thin.

For Plano, the loss stings in the context of a district stretch that has already included some lopsided results. The rivalry game offered a reset opportunity. It did not deliver one.

Gildea and Scott still have more than a year before they sign, but Tuesday was the kind of performance that sharpens a recruiting file. College programs in the Big 12 and beyond track these Plano-area matchups closely, and a playoff-intensity win over a crosstown rival in late March is exactly the résumé entry both players needed.