Category: Softball

by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Snyder earns pair of one-run wins to rally past Monahans, earn spot in state semis

BIG SPRING — It took a slugfest, a pitcher’s duel and a whole lot of grit, but at the end of a thrilling Region I-4A Division II championship series, it was the Snyder Lady Tigers left standing Saturday at the Big Spring ISD Softball Complex.

Entering Day 2 of their best-of-three series with Monahans off a tough 4-3 loss on Friday, the Lady Tigers needed to take two from a strong Lady Loboes squad Saturday to extend their season and advance to the state semifinals.

While nothing about that task was easy in theory or practice, coach Regina Cummings team managed to accomplish it nonetheless, following a heart-stopping 9-8 win in Game 2 with a gutsy 1-0 victory in the series clincher to earn a date with Aubrey (31-3) next week at a time, date and location to be determined.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wells’ no-hitter has Coahoma one win from state semifinals

Hannah Wells threw her second no-hitter of the postseason — and third of 2025 — as Coahoma beat Jacksboro 10-0 in the opening game of the Region I-3A Division II championship series on Friday night at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.

The senior standout struck out 11 and faced just two batters over the minimum in notching her second win over the Tigerettes this season.

Wells, a University of Texas signee, also beat Jacksboro on March 1 with an 11-strikeout one-hitter in a 4-0 win.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Sundown goes yard three times in 13-3 win over Haskell in Game 1

WOLFFORTH — With outfield dimensions of only 198, 198 and 198 feet, along with a stiff wind blowing out to left field, it seemed only a matter of time before softballs began leaving the park in Game 1 of the Region I-2A DII championship series between Sundown and Haskell on Thursday. 

Unfortunately for Haskell, it was Sundown which played longball throughout the afternoon in a five-inning 13-3 mercy rule win for the Roughettes. 

Brynly Gregory was 3-for-4 with two doubles and a walk-off solo homer to activate the mercy rule and give Sundown a 1-0 lead in the series. Game 2 will take place on Friday at Wylie beginning at 3 p.m. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Hermleigh rallies for pair of wins to oust Eula for fourth straight year

ABILENE — Hermleigh softball coach Sammy Winters said he only got about three hours of sleep on Friday night after his team lost 6-4 to Eula in the opener of its Region I-1A semifinal series at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field.

Winters left the school at 1 a.m. and was still wound up as he was replaying the game, studying GameChanger and poring over statistics before finally falling asleep a little after 3:30 a.m.

The extra time and effort paid off as the Lady Cardinals, who were down to their final strike in the seventh inning of Game 2, rallied to claim a 6-5 win in eight innings before finishing off the series with a 6-1 win in Game 3.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Sundown ends Stamford’s postseason run with Game 3 regional semifinal win

BIG SPRING —Even an ace will eventually run out of gas and in the case of Stamford standout Emma Follis, that point came in Game 3 of a Region I-2A DII semifinal against a powerhouse club from Sundown in an 11-3 loss. 

Follis, who was effective in a 4-3 Game 1 loss and in a 5-3 Game 2 win, was unable to maintain her level of movement and velocity in her third start in three days. 

Led by Brynly Gregory, who had a two-run homer and Nayleen Morin, who was 2-for-4 with a double, triple and two RBIs, the Roughettes (30-5) touched Ellis for 11 runs (seven earned) on 12 hits through seven innings, six of which went for extra bases. 

Eight of Sundown‘s hits game in the final three frames — the 19th, 20th and 21st innings of work for Follis in the three-day series at Lady Steer Field.  

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Fast start fuels Eula to 6-4 win over area rival Hermleigh in series opener

ABILENE — Kicking off a high-profile region semifinal series with Hermleigh on Friday at Abilene Christian University’s Poly Wells Field, the Eula softball team grabbed a rare upper hand on its area rival, using a three-run top of the first as the catalyst for a wire-to-wire 6-4 victory in the opener of the best-of-three affair.

With the win, the Lady Pirates snapped a five-game playoff losing streak to the Cardinals, who have eliminated EHS from the playoffs each of the last three seasons and four times total since the Class 1A bracket was introduced in 2016. 

The win also put coach Jayton Thompson’s team in a position to advance past HHS for just the second time in that span with a win in Game 2 or Game 3, when the series resumes at 2 p.m. Saturday back on the ACU campus.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Birdville uses fast start to even series with Abilene High

North Richland Hills Birdville made an emphatic statement in the first inning on Friday night to ensure that the Abilene High softball team wouldn’t get any more Maiya Magic at Hogan Field.

A night after the sophomore stole third and scored to give AHS a walk-off win in the opener of a best-of-three Region I-5A Division I semifinal series, the Lady Hawks evened the series with an 11-1 victory.

Game 3 will be at 1 p.m. Saturday, and the winner will earn the right to face Aledo for a berth in the state semifinals.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Stamford edges Sundown to knot series at 1-1

BIG SPRING — With back-to-back nail-biters already behind them, the Stamford and Sundown softball teams will meet in a winner-take-all third game on Saturday at 3 p.m. at Lady Steer Field.

The question is, can the rubber match equal what has been displayed in the Region I-2A DII semifinals thus far: A come-from-behind 4-3 Sundown win in the opener on Thursday, followed by a 5-3 Stamford win on Friday that nearly saw Sundown pull off another late miracle. 

Game 2 put us in this position, with Stamford (25-5) knotting the series behind pitching ace Emma Follis, who went the distance for a second straight time. 

Follis limited Sundown (28-5) to three runs (none earned) on six hits, with two walks and four strikeouts. The key difference from Game 1 to Game 2 being that the Lady Bulldogs executed down the stretch defensively when it mattered most. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Snyder completes sweep of Greenwood with 2-1 win in Game 2

BIG SPRING — A day removed from a 16-1 mercy rule beating at the hands of Snyder, the Midland Greenwood Rangerettes arrived at Lady Steer Field on Friday hoping for redemption.

They found it, albeit in a 2-1 loss to the Lady Tigers in a Region I-4A DII semifinal series, swept by Snyder 2-0. 

Micaela Martinez was 1 for -3 with an RBI double and Jenna Rodriguez was 1 for 2 with a walk and the game-winning RBI to lead Snyder (25-7), which had to come from behind with two runs in the fifth inning to scratch out a tough win. The Lady Tigers now advance to the Region I-4A DII title series where they will meet either Brock or Monahans.  

Greenwood (17-18-1), which had surrendered 14 hits, eight walks and two errors in Thursday’s Game 1 disaster, cut those numbers to six, four and one respectively on Friday while very nearly forcing a Game 3. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Snyder blasts Greenwood, 16-1 to take series lead in Region I-4A semis

BIG SPRING — For Snyder, it was one of those days when virtually everything went right. From Midland Greenwood’s perspective, Thursday’s 16-1 mercy-rule beating at the hands of the Lady Tigers at Lady Steer Field couldn’t have been much worse. 

Jenna Rodriguez was 3 of 4 with two homers and four RBIs while Sydnee Gomez was 2 of 3 with an RBI and went the distance in the circle to lift Snyder (24-7), which now leads the Region I-4A semifinal series 1-0. 

The teams will square off in Game 2 on Friday at 10 a.m. at the same venue. 

“Sydnee is a sophomore, but she does what she needs to do, and she takes care of business,” Snyder coach Regina Cummings said. “She’s very focused and very intense.” 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Gritty Abilene High Lady Eagles open region semifinal series with walk-off win over Birdville

GRAHAM — During her time at Abilene High, coach Jenna Aguirre’s teams have won a lot of games with gritty — often excellent — pitching and an aggressive, opportunistic playing style on offense.

On Thursday, the Lady Eagles followed that same familiar formula to a 6-5 walk-off victory over North Richland Hills Birdville in Game 1 of their Region I-5A Division I semifinal series with the Lady Hawks.

Junior starter Avah Reyes bent at times in the circle against an explosive Birdville lineup that put near constant pressure on her throughout the game, but she never broke. And her lineup gave her just enough run support, winning the game on a throwing error in the bottom of the seventh after the Lady Hawks had scored three runs in the top of the sixth to knot the score at 5.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Sundown comes from behind to edge Stamford 4-3 in Game 1

BIG SPRING — For half of Thursday’s Region I-2A DII Semifinal opener with Sundown, the Stamford Lady Bulldogs had the look of a team that was in control. They led 3-0, starting pitcher Emma Follis was breezing along and Stamford had every ounce of the momentum. 

Sundown, however, didn’t enter this series at 28-4 by accident. The Roughettes not only began to catch up with Follis’ velocity, but they shut out the Lady Bulldogs over the final four innings to win 4-3 at Lady Steer Field. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

SIGNING DAY: Eight Abilene High athletes make commitments official at super-sized ceremony

Eight Abilene High athletes made their college commitments official on Wednesday during a Signing Day ceremony at Eagle Gym, capping a week of signings that began Tuesday when Eagle football players Bryson Perez and Dristain Payne solidified their commitments to Hardin-Simmons University.

Kinzley Cantu (softball; Hardin-Simmons), Mason Murray (cross country/track; Baylor University); Jazlyn Ortiz (cross country/track; Franciscan University of Steubenville), Keeley Aston (soccer; Seminole State College), Laly Dehoyos (cheer; Hardin-Simmons), Rylan Stokes (baseball; McMurry University), Camp Churchill (baseball; McMurry) and John Alcantar (cross country/track; Western Texas College) all took part in the event, signing letters of intent in front of friends and family who packed the gymnasium’s lower level. 

That group gave AHS 11 signings in a two-week span, after tennis player Allie Dunn committed to Hardin-Simmons last week. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Gordon’s Stryker Reed takes our final accolade of 2024-25 school year

As our tradition dictates, we close the books on our Big Country Preps Player of the Week on the first Monday following the UIL State Track and Field Championships in Austin. 

And more often than not, our final award of the school year goes to someone who scored big at the state capital. 

This year is no exception, with Gordon’s Stryker Reed taking the award after helping GHS win the boys team state championship, setting two individual state records and helping to set a new relay mark in the process.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Wall softball takes thrilling 11-inning win before falling to Jacksboro in Game 3

ABILENE — The Wall Lady Hawks showed up to Wylie’s Bulldog Field on Saturday expecting to have a long day of softball after dropping the opening game of their best-of-three Region I-3A Division II area-round series with Jacksboro 17-6 on Friday night.

Nobody expected the Lady Hawks and Tigerettes to wind up playing 18 innings in one day.

Wall took a 6-5 win in 11 innings in Game 2 before Jacksboro rebounded with a 10-5 win to clinch the series and earn a date with Muleshoe next week.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Bangs completes sweep of area series with 13-2 win over Forsan

SAN ANGELO — A fast start and steady pitching lifted the Bangs Lady Dragons to a 13-2 mercy rule win over Forsan to sweep their Region I-2A DI area round series on Saturday at the SAS Softball Complex.

Abby Wolf went the distance in the circle and was 3 of 4 with four RBIs while Neeley Bradley was 3-of-4 with two homers and four RBIs to lead Bangs (24-7) which pounded out a 9-0 lead in the first three innings and never looked back. 

The Lady Dragons now advance to face Clarendon in the Region I semifinals; Forsan, which hurt itself with four errors, closed its season at 13-12, led by Ari Mealing who was 1-for-3 with a double and two RBIs.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Colorado City advances with Game 2 extra-inning win over Anson

HERMLEIGH — One of the biggest challenges in any sport is to lose a big lead along with the momentum, only to recapture both and win the game. 

The Colorado City softball team managed to pull this off on Friday to capture a Region I-2A DI area title with a 13-7 win over Anson in nine innings at Lady Cardinal Field. 

Southpaw Mia Obenhaus went the distance in the circle and was 3-of-5 with two doubles and four RBIs to lead Colorado City (24-7), which advances to face sixth-ranked Floydada (29-6) in the regional semifinals next week. 

Leading 6-0 heading into the bottom of the fifth, and 7-5 heading into the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Wolves absorbed a seven-run Anson rally over the final three frames to send the contest into extra innings. There, Colorado City turned on a dime with a six-run outburst in the ninth to get the win and a 2-0 series sweep. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Miller, Hermleigh blank Baird to set up third-round showdown with Eula

CLYDE — After throwing a pair of no-hitters in a bi-district sweep of Ira, Hermleigh freshman Peyton Miller dominated in the circle again on Friday night as the Lady Cardinals shut out Baird 11-0 in a one-game Region I-1A area-round playoff at the Hanner Sports Complex.

Miller struck out eight and walked two in a complete-game effort.

After the performance, Hermleigh coach Sammy Winters said that Miller has the potential to be one of the next star pitchers to come out of the Big Country.

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Brock’s Mylee Cedillo takes this week’s accolade with two doses of late-game heroics

If one is to play the role of hero, there’s not a better time to do it than in postseason play in your senior year. 

Brock’s Mylee Cedillo lived that experience — not once, but twice in last week’s uber-intense bi-district series with fifth-ranked Levelland that saw the Lady Eagles edge the Loboettes 2-1 and 7-6 in 13 innings. 

It all began Friday night in Game 1, with Levelland pitcher Aubrey Rivas carrying a no-hitter and a 1-0 lead into the seventh inning. Cedillo responded to the pressure with an RBI double to drive home both Lily Springstead (who walked) and courtesy runner Emily Faddis (running for Ali Coleman who reached on an error) to give Brock a 2-1 win. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Bangs slips past Hawley in wild bi-district series, earns second-round date with Forsan

ABILENE — Less than 24 hours after Bangs opened its Region I-2A Division I bi-district series against Hawley with a decisive 17-7 victory, the Lady Dragons and Lady Cats treated those who returned to the Abilene Christian University campus for the end of the best-of-three affair to a couple of classics Saturday afternoon at Poly Wells Field.

Facing elimination after Friday’s run-rule loss, Hawley answered a two-run Bangs top of the seventh with two runs of its own in the bottom of the inning to walk-off with a 7-6 win in Game 2, before BHS rallied from a 6-4 deficit in the fifth inning to earn a series-clinching 8-7 win in Game 3.

As a result of those outcomes — and 14 nail-biting innings for the fans of both teams — the Lady Dragons (22-7) earned a trip to the area round to take on District 5-2A champion Forsan next week, while Hawley saw its season end in heartbreak at 14-15.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Brock remains unbeaten with 13-inning marathon victory over Levelland to win 4A DII bi-district series

EULA — To get past a difficult Levelland team in their Class 4A DII bi-district series, the Brock Lady Eagles had very little margin for error. In fact, through Friday’s 2-1 win in Game 1 and Saturday’s 7-6 win in 13 innings, Brock played error-free softball to advance to the area round. 

Twenty full innings without a single miscue.

Mylee Cedillo was 6 of 7 with a triple, an RBI and two runs scored (including the 13th inning game-winner) while freshman phenom Ali Coleman went the distance in the circle to lead the top-ranked and still-unbeaten Lady Eagles (27-0-2), who will face Burkburnett in the area round next Friday and Saturday in Graham. 

Levelland closed its season at 28-6-1, led by Saydi Mendez, who was 6 of 7 with a triple and two RBIs.

“We had to play that way to win,” said Brock coach Greg Connors of his team’s fielding perfection — knowing full well that fifth-ranked Levelland would be a handful. 

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Haskell opens playoffs with dominant performance against Ballinger

CLYDE — Paige Sheets was dominant in the circle and her teammates gave her plenty of run support, scoring early and often as the Haskell Maidens opened the Region I-2A Division II playoffs with a 12-0 run-rule victory over Ballinger on Friday at the Hanner Sports Complex.

Sheets struck out 10 in a five-inning shutout, limiting the Lady Cats to just three hits, while she and her teammates roughed up Ballinger for 12 hits, including a pair of doubles and two home runs.

The end result was a thorough victory that pushes the Maidens into next week’s area round, where they will face off with Reagan County, which easily dispatched of Eldorado in its bi-district playoff.

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Damron’s bat propels Eula to series-clinching win over Hamlin

Emma Damron finished a double shy of hitting for the cycle and had a walk-off three-run inside-the-park home run as Eula finished off a two-game sweep of Hamlin with a 15-4 win at ACU’s Poly Wells Field on Friday night.

Damron tripled in the first inning and had an RBI single in the fourth before ending the game in the fifth inning.

She also earned the praise of coach Jayton Thompson for the work she did behind the plate, catching Macy Flatt, who made her first career postseason start in Eula’s 22-3 win in the series opener.

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Stephenville outlasts Big Spring in bi-district sweep of the Lady Steers

ABILENE — It took more than five hours of combined play for Stephenville and Big Spring to settle their bi-district issue on Friday at Bulldog Field, with the Honey Bees taking consecutive wins to move into the area round. 

Following a well-played, 6-3 Stephenville win in Game 1, the night cap saw a far sloppier performance by a pair of tired clubs, with the Honey Bees topping Big Spring 22-7 to lock up the series. 

Stephenville (17-13-1) now advances to face either Springtown or Fort Worth Southwest at a site and time to be determined. Big Spring closed its season at 12-12. 

“When you start this thing with the first pitch at 5:30 and it being 11 p.m. on the last out it makes for a long day,” Stephenville coach Chase Cleland said. “But that’s what doubleheaders in postseason are for — to see who can outlast the other one and try to play the cleanest ball you can play.”

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by Daniel Youngblood

GAME STORY: Anson holds off Cisco rally to secure bi-district sweep, advance to area round

EULA — The Anson Lady Tigers punched their ticket to the area round of the Region I-2A Division I softball playoffs Thursday night, advancing past a spirited Cisco squad with a doubleheader sweep at the Eula softball field.

After surging late to pull away for a 10-3 victory in Game 1, the Lady Tigers fought off a Lady Loboes rally in Thursday’s nightcap, following a four-run Cisco seventh with a three-run top of the eighth to clinch the series with a 9-6 extra-innings win in Game 2.

Those results earned coach Mistrie Vinson and her team at least one more week together, as they’ll gear up for a second-round meeting with Colorado City, which routed Ozona 20-0 in a one-game playoff Thursday.

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by Evan Ren

Final Area Softball Stat Leaders (through April 24)

Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 24:

Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions. 

If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his or her email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com. 

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by Evan Ren

GAME STORY: Hermleigh freshman softballer blanks Hawley 10-0; HHS baseball celebrates first district title

HERMLEIGH — For both teams, it was little more than a dress rehearsal for the upcoming playoffs. But by game’s end, Hermleigh gave the impression that it is again ready to do some damage in the 1A softball bracket after handing a 10-0 mercy rule loss to Class 2A Hawley in Tuesday’s playoff warmup game at Lady Cardinal Field.  

Freshman Peyton Miller tossed a six-inning, three-hit shutout with six strikeouts while Hailey Minton and Brooklyn O’Quinn were both 1-for-2 with a combined three RBIs to lead Hermleigh (17-1), which took advantage of 12 walks, three passed balls, two wild pitches and an error to take control of the game. 

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by Evan Ren

BIG COUNTRY PREPS PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Wall’s Jones holds down the top spot yet again

At Big Country Preps, we pride ourselves on sharing the love as much as possible. But Wall senior Briggs Jones has been so spectacular of late, that he’s making that difficult. 

Jones has not only taken our Big Country Preps Player of the Week for a second straight time, but for a third time this year and a fourth time in his athletic career. 

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by Brandon McAuliffe

GAME STORY: Coahoma breaks state record in playoff tune-up win over Abilene High

The Coahoma softball team has been on a historic run since beating Bryan Rudder 5-0 on March 4, 2023.

Thursday night, the Bulldogettes etched their name in the history books with a 6-1 win over Abilene High at the AHS softball field — the 84th consecutive game they have gone without a loss.

Coahoma is 83-0-1 during the streak, with the lone tie coming earlier this year in a 2-2 decision in four innings in a tournament game against Lubbock High. With the record in hand, Coahoma coach Alex Orosco said that the team has been focused on doing things right daily and that allows for records to be broken.

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by Evan Ren

Area Softball Stat Leaders (through April 17)

Here are the area’s softball statistical leaders through April 17:

Statistics are from throughout the Big Country Preps circulation area as submitted by coaches. These lists will be continually updated as we receive more submissions. 

If your favorite team is missing, please give your head coach a friendly reminder to check his or her email for our weekly stat request or send Evan Ren a note at Evan.Ren@BigCountryPreps.com. 

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