The Caddo Mills High School Baseball/Softball Complex is as beautifully-done a set of fields as there is in Texas. It is so new that it still smells like calk.
On such a field, it would make sense that the Mineola Lady Jackets could put together a game which was a nearly flawless. A dream-game for a perfect field. It was an honor to the sport.
The Lady Jackets defeated the Whitesboro Bearcats 11-0 in the first game of the regional finals.
Mineola batted through the line-up in the top half of the first. They crossed the plate five times before Whitesboro even recorded an out. The first five hitters stroked base hits, culminating in Coco Nguyen’s 3-run blast over the left-field fence.
They forced Whitesboro starter, Avery Howerton, to throw over 40 pitches in the top of the first. It was better than a good start; it was nearly as good as it gets in playoff softball.
The Lady Jackets added a run in the third. Nguyen was drilled with a fastball between the shoulder blades to start the inning. Aggressive baserunning forced a Whitesboro throwing error at third, and Nguyen easily crossed for the sixth run.
Mineola left two runners on in the fourth, but both Kaitlyn McMahon and Journey Wilson sent hard line drives directly to the opposing shortstop and center-fielder, respectively.
In the fifth, the Lady Jackets scored twice more. Kali Chrietzberg reached on a walk and was chased home by a single to right off the bat of Jadelyn Marshall. The bottom of the Mineola order then played some nice team ball to get Marshall home after sacrifice bunts by Maddie Short and Jorja Young, and an infield base hit from Caroline Castleberry.
Not to be outdone by Nguyen’s blast in the first, Journie Wilson sent the first pitch she faced in the top of the sixth over the center-field fence. As the ball left her bat, a fan from Whitesboro whistled and said to no one in particular, “That ball is outta here!” Mineola scored twice more in the inning on a Bearcat error and a sacrifice fly.
In the circle, Jadelyn Marshall pitched a stellar game. She gave up one hit, struck-out eight and walked two. Her placement was excellent, and she stayed ahead of the batters. Marshall averaged only 13 pitches per inning through six innings of work.