As the score indicates, the Mineola Lady Jackets did just a bit more than their Winnsboro counterparts and brought home a district championship-clenching 6-5 win last Tuesday.

Mineola took a 6-1 lead into the fifth inning and fought off Winnsboro rallies in each of the last three innings to take the game. 

Lady Jacket hurler Jadelyn Marshall largely handcuffed the Lady Raiders in the first four innings. She consistently hit the outside corner of the plate and kept the ball low in the strike zone, frustrating the Winnsboro hitters.

The sole, early, Winnsboro run came in the fourth. Two infield errors by the Lady Jackets put the Lady Raiders in a position to score on a sacrifice fly.  

Meanwhile, the Lady Jackets got off to a great start. Caroline Castleberry led off by beating out an infield hit. She advanced to second on a passed ball and took third and home after tagging up on fly balls from Mahayla McMahon and Jaycee Smith. 

The Lady Jackets squandered back-to-back singles by Journie Wilson and Gracie Lindley in the second. However, in the third, the Lady Jackets rallied. 

Castleberry reached on an inning-opening walk. She came in to score after a stolen base and a fielding error by Winnsboro. Kaitlyn McMahon had reached base on a hard-hit infield base hit to the right side. 

Mahayla McMahon stepped into the box. She hit a line drive which accelerated out over the left-field fence for a two-run home run. It was a blistering, lined shot.  

Winnsboro got on the board with a single run in the third. After having reached on a walk, a momentary loss of awareness by the Lady Jacket defense resulted in a rushed throw in an attempt to get a delayed steal at third base. The throw bounced past the base and the runner scored. 

Mineola rebounded with two runs in the fourth.  Marshall sliced a single into center and scored after a Winnsboro fielding error.  Two hitters later, Kaitlyn McMahon reached on an infield hit and found herself at third after a wild throw to first base. Mahayla McMahon lifted an RBI-producing sacrifice fly to bring the run home.  

In the bottom of the fifth, the game changed. The Winnsboro hitters began to adjust to Marshall’s outside corner placement and started to drive the ball to the right side. 

Mineola looked to have the game in hand, but the Lady Raiders mustered two runs in the fifth and single runs in the sixth and seventh to make it a close finish. Two of those three rallies featured extra base hits to deep right field as the Winnsboro hitters started going with the outside pitches.

Three critical outs preserved the win for Mineola. In the fifth, catcher Jaycee Smith gunned-down an attempted Winnsboro steal at second to close the inning. 

In the sixth, the Mineola defense combined to nail a Lady Raider trying to score from first after a teammate launched a triple to right-center. 

It was the team’s composure in the seventh which secured the win. The Lady Jackets traded a key second out in the bottom half for a run on a fielder’s choice and set up the final out for Marshall.  

The Lady Jackets are a solid team. They are adept in the field, have an intelligent and consistent ace and can drive the ball (ten hits from seven batters against Winnsboro). The length of their stay in the playoffs will likely come down to eliminating mistakes and maintaining their focus at the plate in the face of better and better pitching.

Mineola faces Redwater for a bidistrict playoff series in Hallsville, with game one Thursday at 6 p.m. and game two Saturday at noon. A third game would follow 30 minutes after game two if needed.