The hour and 20-minute drive from Wylie High School to Whitesboro was likely a pleasant one for the Whitesboro softball team and its fans Thursday night.
The bus carrying the Lady Bearcats was likely in pandemonium, and with good reason. For the first time in program history, Whitesboro is going to the state softball tournament.
The Lady Bearcats punched their tickets to Austin with a two-game sweep of defending Region II-3A champion Rains at Wylie High School. Whitesboro (32-7) won the series opener, 4-2, on Tuesday, and finished the series with a 19-9 win on Thursday.
The Lady Bearcats’ state semifinal contest was at 1 p.m. Wednesday at McCombs Field in Austin. The championship game will take place at 1 p.m. Thursday. Results were not available as of press time.
GAME TWO
WHITESBORO 19, RAINS 9 (6)
Thirteen was the lucky number for Whitesboro on Thursday as they used 13 hits and 13 walks to score 19 runs in a 19-9 rout of Rains. The game ended in the bottom of the sixth inning because of the 10-run rule.
The Lady Bearcats blasted four homeruns in the contest, including two from Oli Hildebrand. The senior catcher hit a grandslam in the bottom of the first and a two-run homer in the bottom of the second.
Avery Howerton and Bradi Gallaway also hit solo homeruns in the contest. Whitesboro scored runs in five of six innings.
Rains got on the board first with a three-run homerun in the top of the first from Presley Kilgore. But the Lady Cats’ 3-0 lead wouldn’t last long.
The Lady Bearcats loaded the bases with one out in the bottom of the first to set things up for Hildebrand. She sent a 1-0 delivery over the left field wall to put her team up 4-3 after one inning of play. Whitesboro added more in the bottom of the second. Howerton hit a solo homerun and Hildebrand hit a two-run blast to increase their team’s lead to 7-3.
The Lady Bearcats continued to pour it on in the bottom of the third. Howerton drew a bases-loaded walk, Mel Baldwin hit a two-run single, and Hildebrand and Maci Graves drove in a run each with a sacrifice fly and groundout, respectively.
Whitesboro’s 12-3 lead stood until the bottom of the fourth. That’s when Gallaway hit a solo homer to increase her team’s lead to 13-3.
But Rains did not go away quietly. Needing at least a run to extend the game, the Lady Cats used a three-run homerun from Cambree Oakes to trim their deficit to 13-6 in the top of the fifth.
Rains used three singles and a hit batsman to score another three runs in the top of the sixth. Trailing 13-9 and having scored six unanswered runs, the Lady Cats seemed to have momentum on their side.
But the Lady Bearcats went back to work in the bottom of the sixth. Baldwin hit a three-run double, Tylar Olsen drew a bases-loaded walk and Keely Hartless hit a two-run single to clinch the game for Whitesboro.
Baldwin (3-4, BB, 2B, 5 RBI) and Hildebrand (3-4, SAC, 2 HR, 7 RBI) led the Lady Bearcats at the plate. Hartless (2-4, BB, 2B, 2 RBI) and Howerton (2-2, 3 BB, HR, 2 RBI) also had multiple hits.
Gallaway (1-3, 2 BB, HR, RBI), Graves (1-4, BB, RBI) and Olsen (1-3, 2 BB, RBI) also had hits. Downs (0-3, 2 BB) and Addi McBride (0-4, BB) also contributed.
GAME ONE
WHITESBORO 4, RAINS 2
Howerton struck out 14 batters and gave up just two runs on five hits in Whitesboro’s 4-2 victory over Rains. The sophomore pitcher also had plenty of run support as well. The Lady Bearcats scored a run in each of the first three innings to take a 3-0 lead in the top of the third. Baldwin hit an RBI single in the top of the first, McBride had an RBI double in the top of the second, and Hildebrand hit an RBI double in the top of the third.
Rains used a pair of singles and an error to pull within one, 3-2, in the bottom of the third. But the Lady Cats didn’t score again after that.
Hartless hit an RBI single in the top of the sixth to give her team a two-run cushion. Howerton proceeded to retire six of the last seven batters she faced in the last two innings.
Graves (3-4, 2B) led Whitesboro at the plate, while Baldwin (2-4, 3B, RBI) and Hartless (2-2, SAC, RBI) also had multiple hits. Gallaway (1-4), Hildebrand (1-3, BB, 2B, RBI), Howerton (0-2, 2 BB) and McBride (1-3, 2B, RBI) also contributed.