River Road makes program history outlasting Jim Ned in the UIL Class 3A Division I regional semifinals

It was a history making Saturday for the River Road Lady Wildcats.

For the first time in program history, River Road will be playing in a regional championship after outlasting Jim Ned in a best-of-three game series during the UIL Class 3A Division I semifinals Friday and Saturday in Lamesa.

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After dropping the series opener 5-4 on Friday, the Lady Wildcats bounced back earning two wins Saturday getting an 8-5 victory to even the series and then making school history by beating the Lady Indians 5-3 in the rubber match.

“This is huge for this team and our school,” River Road softball coach Brent Morris said. “This is a first for this program and I’m so proud of these girls. They were down 1-0 to Jim Ned after Friday and found a way to battle back. This team was resilient, and I can’t say enough about them.”

River Road (28-9) advances to play Iowa Park (28-3-1) for the regional championship at a time and place to determined. Iowa Park moved on Friday and Saturday sweeping Bushland by a 12-2 and 5-2 count.

Following the Game 1 loss to Jim Ned, the Lady Wildcats found themselves down 5-1 in Game 2. However, the offense picked things up scoring five runs over the bottom of the third and fourth highlighted by an Ava Sharp three-run home run giving River Road a 6-5 lead it’d never relinquish.

With momentum on the Lady Cats side heading into a decisive Game 3, River Road jumped on a 4-3 lead and picked up a key fifth run in the top of the fourth that was more than enough for the clutch victory. Sharp was stellar Saturday throwing a combined 9.1 innings Saturday with four strikeouts. Sharp was also 4-for-8 in the final two games with a homer, a triple totaling four RBIs. Teammate Carolyn Koval, who pitched the opener, threw the 4.2 innings to get the save with three strikeouts. Koval even put together three hits Saturday with three RBIs and Emma Killman had a huge two-run home run in the final game.

“We hit the ball like we have all year Saturday,” Morris said. “We played great defense in the last two games and Ava (Sharp) was gutsy in the circle. Carolyn then came in and she was incredible. This was a complete team effort.”

Dumas hits new milestone with sweep of Brownwood

Not only is Dumas the only Class 4A team still standing, but the Demonettes continue to re-write the school record books after getting a dominating sweep of Brownfield, 15-6, and 8-6, in the Division I regional semifinals Thursday and Friday at First United Park on the campus of Lubbock-Cooper.

Dumas has found its stride offensively scoring 23 combined runs in the sweep including 15 runs in the opener against the Lady Lions.

On Thursday, the Demonettes set the tone scoring eight runs in the first two innings on the way to 15 team hits. Yaritza Vargas had herself quite the day going 3-for-6 with a double, on top of a pair of triples and two RBIs. Suzette Reyes added two doubles with four RBIs.

During Friday’s series sweep, Vargas added to her torrid pace going 2-for-3 with a homer and a triple for four RBIs. Vida Fierro tacked on a three-run home run.

“I am incredibly proud of this team for what they’ve accomplished and the dedication they’ve shown,” Dumas head coach Carlyn Tolleson said. “Becoming a regional semifinalist champion for the first time in program history is an absolute honor. Our goal has always been to bring it back to the amazing community we have. We are extremely blessed, and we can’t wait to continue this journey next week.”

Dumas (34-5) is now getting set for a regional final showdown with Andrews (33-7) with the first of a three-game series set for 6 p.m. Friday at the Lady Bulldogs Softball Complex in Plainview.

Clarendon KO’s Bangs in UIL Class 2A Division I regional semifinals

The Clarendon Lady Broncos continue a historic ride by stayed hot getting a sweep of the Bangs Lady Dragons during a UIL Class 2A Division I regional semifinals in Holliday.

The Lady Broncos (28-5-1) held off a late rally by Bangs with a 7-6 win in Thursday’s opener, then completed the sweep by nabbing a 6-3 victory Saturday. This will be the first regional title that the Lady Broncos have ever played in when they face Floydada (27-6) at a time and place to be determined next week.

In the series opener, the Lady Broncos scored all seven runs in the top of the fourth highlighted by a Shelby Christopher three-run homer and Kennadie Cummins long ball. To close out the series Saturday, Tandie Cummins was 3-for-4 with a pair of doubles tallying two RBIs. Teammate Haden Elam was also 3-for-4 with an RBI double. Kennadie Cummins was also a workhorse in the circle throwing 11 innings over the two wins.

“I’ve known these girls a longtime,” Clarendon softball coach Brad Elam said. “I’ve known them since elementary school. They are all competitors, they play tough and all play at an even keel. Kenadie (Cummins) was huge in the circle for us and that seven-run inning I felt was the momentum turner. It flustered Bangs and got us going.”

Regional semifinal quick hits

• Amarillo High saw a superb season come to an end at the hands of Aledo 11-0 during a one-game UIL Class 5A Division I regional semifinal Wednesday at Iowa Park. The Lady Sandies finish with a 27-9-1 overall mark.

Muleshoe saw a historic season come to an end falling to Jacksboro in the UIL Class 3A Division I regional semifinals. Jacksboro was dominate beating the Lady Mules 12-2 in the opener and closed the series out with a 7-0 shutout. The Lady Mules, who were playing in the programs first ever regional semifinals, end the year at 24-9.

Haskell was able to end West Texas High’s season with a pair of lopsided victories in the UIL Class 2A Division II regional semifinals. Haskell won the opener 15-1 and then capped of the series with a 28-1 win. West Texas High ends the year at 18-7.

Borden County was too much for Booker in the UIL Class 1A regional semifinals beating the Lady Kiowas 14-1. Booker ends a strong year at 6-8.