May 25, 2002, 12:45AM
Kingwood's offense sinks Bellaire  

There would be no dramatic seventh-inning rally for Bellaire on Friday night. Kingwood starter Michael Hopper and the Mustangs' red-hot offense made sure of that.

One night after blowing a series of early scoring opportunities, Kingwood didn't waste a second chance to jump all over the Cardinals. A six-run first inning set up the Mustangs en route to a 9-2 victory at the Reliant Astrodome.

The Mustangs (29-8) completed an impressive sweep of the Cardinals (26-7) in this Class 5A Region III semifinal series by altering their hitting approach with runners in scoring position.

"I wish it were that easy that I could just say something to them and they would do it," Kingwood coach David Denny said. "We would never lose if that were the case.

"We talked about it, and they are good enough athletes that they turned it up a notch and realized how many times we failed last night in those situations. And in that first inning, we didn't fail in those situations. It broke their back early."

Kingwood got its offense in gear quickly. Center fielder Lance Pendleton led off the bottom of the first with a single to center. Two batters later, J.B. Sowyrda doubled to the scoreboard in left and Pendleton, who was on the move, scored easily for a 1-0 lead. Michael Flower and Ryan McQuarrie followed with run-scoring hits, making it 3-0 as Bellaire coach Rocky Manuel shifted starter Adam Hale (4-1) to center in favor of reliever Taylor Parker.

The move didn't keep Kingwood from pounding away. After Parker hit Mike Buckalo with a pitch, Jake Van Winkle stroked an RBI double to center that scored McQuarrie. Hopper's single scored Buckalo, and Dustin Walls' sacrifice fly plated Van Winkle to cap the big first inning.

Kingwood stranded 11 runners in its 4-3 win Thursday. Game 2 was a different story.

"It was a lot of fun getting up on them early," said Pendleton, who finished 5-for-7 with a walk in the series. "We relaxed and played our game and hit the ball real well.

"That's baseball. Some nights you can get the hits when you need them and some nights you can't. Tonight, we got the hits when we needed them and it helped out a whole bunch."

Hopper (6-2) benefited from Kingwood's offensive explosion. He set the first 10 Bellaire batters down in order, relying on off-speed pitches that kept the Cardinals guessing. Presented with this early huge cushion, Hopper didn't worry about trying to be perfect.

"Hopper did a super job," Denny said. "He kept them off-balance for the first two (times through the order)."

Said Hopper of the scoring outburst: "That helped me out a lot. All I had to do was go out and throw strikes and let the defense work behind me."

The Mustangs flashed leather in the fourth and fifth. After Hale and Murray Gilbertson reached on back-to-back singles, Hale tried to score from second on Matt Ueckert's fly ball to left. Hale tagged at second and moved to third on the out, beating the throw from Van Winkle. Third baseman David Hoke noticed Gilbertson trying to advance to second, and threw a strike to Sowyrda that bounced in the dirt and rolled away.

Hale jumped up and headed home, but Sowyrda quickly recovered the ball and fired a laser to Flower, who had plenty of time to tag Hale.

Sowyrda earned another gold star with a diving grab of Mark McGonigle's liner in the fifth, making the catch before hopping up and firing to first to erase Andrew Walker, who drew a leadoff walk, for a double play in preserving the shutout.

Bellaire showed its pride, averting a run-ruled defeat as Kyle McCulloch hurled 2 2/3 shutout relief innings and Hale added a two-run homer in the sixth.

But Hopper had enough left in the tank to earn the complete game, closing out the Cardinals with a double-play grounder with one on in the seventh. He allowed five hits and three walks.

"Bellaire is a great team and it feels good to get past them," Pendleton said. "We're putting it together at the right time. We're hitting the ball and all of the pitchers are doing their job. It feels great, and we have a lot of confidence. You've just got to believe."