Pendleton excels with game on line

Anybody who watched Game 1 of the Class 5A Region III semifinal series between Kingwood and Bellaire on Thursday night at the Reliant Astrodome never can accuse Lance Pendleton of not cleaning up his mess.

In the seventh inning of the series opener, Pendleton, Kingwood's ace, returned to the mound after being lifted in favor of situational lefthander Michael Flower one batter earlier. Facing a bases-loaded situation with one out and the Mustangs leading 4-3, Pendleton was determined to finish what he started.

He did, striking out Murray Gilbertson on three pitches before getting Matt Ueckert to ground out to end the game. Kingwood followed that 4-3 victory with a 9-2 thumping Friday, sending the Mustangs to the regional final against Elkins.

"When I went back in it gave me another chance to clean up the mess that I (created)," said Pendleton, who in addition to his Game 1 victory also went 5-for-7 in the series with two doubles, a walk, three runs scored and a stolen base en route to being named the Chronicle's Boys Athlete of the Week. "I tried to throw some quality pitches to get out of the (seventh-inning) situation, and that's exactly what happened."

And if he hadn't gotten out of the situation, Kingwood coach David Denny said the series might have gone the other way.

"That sent a huge statement for us, and I think it carried over as much as anything to that (six-run) first inning we had on Friday," Denny said. "If Bellaire comes back to win Game 1, it would have been a whole different approach in our mind-set and theirs (for Game 2)."

Pendleton, a senior who improved to 11-1, allowed six hits in his start while striking out nine and walking three. He gave up consecutive singles to Mark McGonigle and Bart Cerny with one out in the seventh before walking the next batter to load the bases. Flower then took the mound, but walked Adam Hale, cutting the lead to 4-3.

"(Denny) told me to try and not lose my mind-set when I went out to center field," Pendleton said of the pitching change, "because `you might be coming back after one batter.'

"If you start thinking you might lose or that they'll beat you, then they will. But I was thinking, `We can get the job done. We can win this game.' And when I came back in, I was determined to get the next two batters out."