The Mineola vs Hughes Springs area championship was a closely-run series. Little seemed to separate the two teams.
The deciding game three was a classic of scholastic softball. While one team, Mineola, carried themselves with quiet confidence, the other, Hughes Springs, appeared to be running on adrenalin.
The result would go to the team that could keep their composure, and the Lady Jackets did just that. Twice the Maidens jumped ahead (by three runs in the first and by three runs in the fourth) and twice the Lady Jackets answered.
Seven Lady Jackets produced base hits on the day, with Journie Wilson going 2 for 3. Wilson and Coco Nguyen stroked RBI base hits in the first, and Maddie Short laced a two-run line drive to center in the fourth.
Trailing 5-4 going into the bottom of the fifth, Caroline Castleberry led off with a triple to the wall in center. Kaitlyn McMahon reached on a fielder’s choice and Mahayla McMahon blasted a triple which chased the Hughes Springs starter. The pressure placed on the Lady Mustangs defense by the Mineola long balls created two throwing errors which directly accounted for two of three runs in the rally.
Once Mineola took the 7-5 lead in the fifth, Jadelyn Marshall took over and forced fly-balls and grounders to secure the win.
Wilson, who started game three, and Marshall made an excellent pairing. Wilson threw four innings giving up six hits with no free passes. Marshall finished the last three innings offering only one hit, a strikeout and one free pass.
The change in pitching was just enough to keep the Lady Mustang hitters off balance.
After dropping the first game in twelve innings, Mineola rebounded and won game two, 5-4. A report on the game one marathon follows. Mineola will face Gunter in the regional semifinals this week.
It wasn’t until the bottom of the sixth inning the Mineola Lady Jackets really climbed off the bus and began to play their game in the area round opener against the Hughes Springs Lady Mustangs.
They tied the game up at 3-3 in the bottom of the sixth and ended up losing the opener 6-5 in twelve innings.
The first five and one-half innings were shaky at best for the Lady Jackets. Shaky at the plate, shaky in the field (three errors), shaky behind the plate and shaky from the mound. It just seemed that the team wasn’t locked in.
Mineola gave up two runs in the third, both on close plays at the plate. In each instance the throw-catch connection to get the out was on time, but the Lady Jackets failed to complete the catch and tag. It was uncharacteristic Mineola softball.
The errors were also uncharacteristic: a ball hit through an infielder, a line drive dropped in the outfield and an errant throw in the infield.
Starter Jadelyn Marshall got off to a tough start. Both pitchers grappled with the strike zone. Marshall averaged 16.5 pitches per inning through five innings.
In the bottom of the sixth, however, that all changed in a flash. Marshall led off and doubled off the top of the wall. Journie Wilson followed and singled her home with a ball down the third-base line. Two hitters later, Kali Chrietzberg sent the first pitch sailing over the right field wall for a two-run round-tripper. The Lady Jackets had tied it up.
A new team took the field in the seventh. Marshall grew stronger. She averaged only 10 pitches per inning through the remaining six innings. The infield recorded 16 outs without an error. Lesliegh Reed made the play of the game in right field by snagging a line drive while sprinting back to the wall. The Jackets had turned the game on its head.
The Lady Jackets (home team in game one) had the winning run on base in the seventh, eighth and tenth innings, but each was left on base.
The drizzle began to come down as steady rain in the top of the twelfth, and Hughes Springs put together a four-hit inning to take a 6-3 lead.
The rain ceased and the Lady Jackets came back. Jorja Young led off the bottom half with a walk. Caroline Castleberry then doubled off the wall in right field. Both Kaitlyn McMahon and Mahayla McMahon lined hard drives out to center, each directly at the Hughes Springs fielder. The runners scored by tagging on each play, making it 6-5.
Mineola takes on Gunter in Rockwall Thursday at 6 p.m. and Friday at 5, with a third game following if needed.