SOFTBALL PLAYOFF ROUNDUP: Despite weather, 12 area teams advance to third round with Bangs-Stamford outcome still pending

Here are the recaps of the Big Country softball playoff results in the second round of the postseason:

REGION I-5A

AREA

Wylie vs. Canutillo: Click here to read Daniel Youngblood’s story on Wylie’s sweep of Canutillo.

Abilene High vs. El Paso Ysleta: Click here to read Daniel Youngblood’s story on Abilene High’s sweep of El Paso Ysleta.

REGION I-4A

AREA

Stephenville vs. Sanger: The Honeybees saw their season come to an end as they were swept by Sanger 9-7 and 12-4. Sanger dominated the series as the Lady Indians never trailed at the end of an inning in the two-game affair. Stephenville held leads of 1-0 and 2-1 after the top of the first and second innings, respectively, in Game 1 with the runs scoring on an RBI single by Macy Parker and an Matti-Lynn Dunnam double. After that, however, it was all Sanger as the Lady Indians plated three runs in the bottom of the second to take a 4-2 lead. After the Honeybees tied the game in the third, Sanger used a five-run fourth inning to take control. The Lady Indians used the momentum from that to take an 11-0 lead in the second inning of Game 2 and were never challenged by Stephenville from there.

Snyder vs. Decatur: Sydnee Gomez had a complete-game four-hitter in the opening game of the series in which she only allowed two unearned runs as Snyder rolled to a 13-2 win on Thursday. Ava Aviles went 4 for 4 at the plate with three RBIs and two runs scored while Gomez doubled and homered while driving in three runs as well. Snyder scored five runs in the bottom of the first as Gomez had a two-run double in the frame before she started an eight-run third inning with a homer to left. Click here to read Brandon McAuliffe’s story on the conclusion of the series.

REGION I-3A

AREA

Wall vs. Iowa Park: Wall saw its season come to an end Saturday at the Hanner Sports Complex in Clyde as Iowa Park took a pair of games, 11-3 and 10-0. Emery Harper’s two-run double in the bottom of the first inning accounted for most of Wall’s offense in the series. Harper scored on a single by Jade Harper in the bottom of the seventh of Game 1 for her team’s final run. Wall used a trio of pitchers in each game as they were never able to shut down Iowa Park’s prolific offense.

Clyde vs. Jacksboro: Clyde had two opportunities to advance in the postseason after claiming an 8-5 win in the opening game of its best-of-three series with Jacksboro on Thursday, but the Lady Bulldogs fell 11-10 and 7-4 in the final two games to see their season come to a close. In the series opener, Jaci Jeffers hit two home runs and drove in four runs as the Clyde offense battered the Tigerettes pitching staff for 12 hits, seven of which went for extra bases, while striking out just four times. The offensive outburst was enough for Kaycee Bingham to pick up a win. Clyde was on the verge of closing out the series in Game 2, leading 9-7 heading into the seventh inning when Jacksboro struck for four runs off Bingham. Sutton McClain had a pair of home runs in the loss, including one leading off the bottom of the seventh, but the Lady Bulldogs were unable to complete the rally. Jacksboro was finally able to contain Clyde’s offense in the finale, jumping out to a 4-0 lead after the second inning and never letting the Lady Bulldogs threaten after that.

Coahoma vs. Holliday: Click here to read Daniel Youngblood’s story on the single game playoff.

Merkel vs. Henrietta: Merkel and Henrietta had a battle for the ages this week with the Lady Badgers taking a 2-1 win in nine innings in the series opener when Eva Rodriguez reached on an error that allowed Sirena Flores to score from second base with two outs. The Lady Badgers won despite having just two hits in the game in large part because Josie Whitehead was able to scatter six hits and four walks in a complete-game effort while striking out six. The two squads were scoreless through five innings of Game 2 before Merkel broke through with a two-run double in the sixth inning by Madison Williams. The Lady Cats then batted around in the bottom of the frame, getting three consecutive two-out singles to break the tie and took a 4-2 win. The drama-filled series saw Merkel take a 1-0 lead in the second inning of Game 3 on an RBI single by Rodriguez, a score that stood until the seventh inning. Henrietta struck for an RBI double and a sacrifice fly in the seventh, taking a 2-1 lead, before sitting the Lady Badgers down in order to end the game.

REGION I-2A

AREA

Forsan vs. Sanford-Fritch: The Lady Buffs rolled through the Lady Eagles to push their winning streak to 16 games after sweeping Sanford-Fritch 13-9 and 10-0 this weekend. After taking a 6-2 lead through three innings, Forsan needed a six-run fifth inning to retake the lead and get a leg up on Sanford-Fritch. Ary’anna Mealing had a big day at the plate in Game 1, finishing a double shy of the cycle, as she drove in four runs and scored a pair. K’leigh Williams added three hits and a team-high three runs in the win. The Lady Buffs made sure that there wouldn’t be any late drama in Game 2, jumping out to a 3-0 lead in the first inning before piling on six more runs in the second. The Lady Buffs got home runs from Mealing, K’Dynce Speck, Emma Buske and Scout Stockton in the Game 2 win.

Cisco vs. Miles: Kassidy Hoodie’s five hits and seven RBIs were a driving force as the Lady Loboes scored at least two runs in all eight of their at-bats during a 17-0 and 12-0 sweep of Miles on Thursday. Cisco started the series with a seven-run first inning in Game 1 as the Lady Loboes sent 11 batters to the plate to set the tone. They took advantage of multiple extra outs, with two batters reaching on dropped third strikes, which allowed three runs to score between the two of them. Among their 19 hits in Game 1, the Lady Loboes had eight go for extra bases. Cisco then upped the power surge with nine of 14 hits in Game 2 going for extra bases, including two triples by Cheyenne Trammell. Cisco had a .532 batting average with an .855 slugging percentage in the series as the Lady Loboes combined for 14 doubles and three triples among their 33 hits.

Haskell vs. Coleman: Click here to read Daniel Youngblood’s story on the single game playoff.

Colorado City vs. Clarendon: Mia Obenhaus had a complete-game three-hitter in Game 1, allowing just a single run as the Lady Wolves opened their area round series with an 11-1 thumping of Clarendon, before the Lady Wolves finished the series with a weather interrupted 9-3 win in Game 2. Obenhaus got all the run support that she would need in the opening game before ever taking to the circle as the Lady Wolves jumped out to a 7-0 lead in the first inning as KK Lloyd’s three-run double set the tone on batter after KK Epperson drew a bases-loaded walk. Clarendon did threaten early against Obenhaus as she struggled the first time through the lineup, but the C-City ace settled down and retired the final 10 batters she faced.

Bangs vs. Stamford: Click here to read Evan Ren’s story on Game 1. The Lady Dragons bounced back with a 14-4 win in Game 2, but due to the severe weather that hit Abilene on Saturday, the deciding third game of the series has been pushed back to 4 p.m. Monday at Abilene Christian University. Bangs jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning, and everyone in the lineup had at least one hit, with Neeley Bradley’s five-hit day leading the way. Bradley had four singles and a double in the win, scoring three runs. Bangs’ Justice Baker added four singles, while Abby Wolf, Cheyenne Rush and Mattisyn Taylor all had multi-hit efforts in the win.

Anson vs. Reagan County: Kayme Elrod’s one-hitter propelled the Lady Tigers past Reagan County 12-0 in a single-game playoff on Thursday afternoon. Elrod struck out the first four hitters that she faced, and 11 total in the game, before giving up a two-out single in the second inning. That was the lone baserunner she allowed, but by then, she had already been staked to a 4-0 lead and was able to cruise to the victory. Miley Adkins’ three-run double in the first inning set the tone for the Lady Tigers before Elrod added a three-run homer in the third.

REGION II-2A

AREA

Hico vs. Tioga: After dropping the opening game of the series 8-5 on Friday, the Lady Tigers stormed back on Saturday with 12-5 and 6-5 wins over the Lady Bulldogs to advance in the postseason. Tioga was able to overcome a pair of Kiersten Fincannon home runs in the opening game as it scored six runs in the bottom of the fourth to claim the win. Tioga had 14 hits off Fincannon in the opener. Fincannon added her third homer of the series in Game 2 when she launched a two-run blast to left, giving Hico a lead it wouldn’t relinquish. It was also the last hittable pitch that the senior would see in the series as she was walked her next six trips to the plate. Tioga closed the gap to 5-4 in the top of the fourth with three runs off Fincannon, but the Lady Tigers immediately answered with five runs of their own in the bottom of the inning to build momentum heading into Game 3. Heading into the bottom of the fifth in the deciding game, Hico trailed 4-1, but two singles, an error and wild pitch — all with two outs — scored a total of five runs and Fincannon was able to work around trouble in each of the final two innings to preserve the win.

De Leon vs. Archer City: Having already pulled off one postseason upset, De Leon was in position to get another one on Tuesday before Archer City rallied in the bottom of the seventh inning for an 8-7 win. ACHS held a 4-0 lead through four innings before De Leon slowly chipped away with two runs in each of the fifth and sixth innings before taking a 7-6 lead with a three-run seventh. Alea Rubio had the go-ahead two-run single for De Leon on a 1-1 pitch with two outs in the frame. Archer City, which saw its leadoff batter in the seventh reach on an error, proceeded to win the game when Brilee Canada had an RBI triple to tie the game before scoring on a passed ball to win the single-game playoff.

REGION I-1A

REGION QUARTERFINALS

Westbrook vs. Harrold: Westbrook saw its season come to an end when it was swept by Harrold 16-3 and 7-3 on Friday. Harrold’s Jaylee Lowe allowed just two hits while striking out 15 in Game 1 before she punctuated that effort with a six-hit, eight-strikeout performance in Game 2. Mylie Maness was the lone bright spot in the series for the Westbrook offense as she drove in five of the six Westbrook runs.

Santa Anna vs. Hermleigh: Click here to read Brandon McAuliffe’s Game 1 story. The Lady Cardinals then clinched the series after Santa Anna forfeited Game 2 when the game was suspended in the top of the first with Hermleigh up 3-0 due to weather.

Eula vs. Menard: Eula’s march through Class 1A competition continued on Thursday as the Lady Pirates swept Menard 24-0 and 26-0 to set up a showdown with Hermleigh next week. Laken Bristow and Macy Flatt combined for a no-hitter in Game 1, allowing just a single walk, before repeating the performance in Game 2 —allowing just a second-inning leadoff walk in that one. Eula had 15 extra-base hits in the series as Emma Damron and Hailie Cauthen both hit a pair of home runs in the series.