Despite suffering their first loss in District 3-5A on Tuesday to Caprock 19-15, the Amarillo High Lady Sandies were still able to clinch a UIL Class 5A Division I playoff berth with a 12-4 bounce back victory at Lubbock High on Thursday afternoon.
The Lady Sandies (21-8-1) are still in the district lead at 12-1 with three games remaining in the regular season. LHS (16-10-2) is currently holding on to the fourth and final playoff spot at the moment at 7-6.
AHS slugged out 14 hits and scored 15 runs but came up short to Caprock at home Tuesday. Brylee Baker and Braylee Shuffield had big days at the plate regardless. Baker was a perfect 3-for-3 with a homer, a double to go with a pair of RBIs. Shuffield added an RBI base-hit.
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In the victory against the Lady Westerners, AHS jumped out to a 5-0 lead and then plated five runs in the top of the seventh to put the game away. Baker was amazing once again going 4-for-5 at the dish with two doubles, a homer, finishing with four RBIs. Teammate Mykaela Samuels added two hits with two RBIs, and tossed six scoreless innings to get the win.
Caprock stays in playoff hunt
The Caprock Lady Longhorns are stil in the playoff mix after getting a huge 19-15 victory at Amarillo High during a District 3-5A game Tuesday.
As big as that win was, Caprock did fall Thursday on the road to Lubbock-Cooper in a 15-13 slugfest. With four games remaining in the regular season, the Lady Longhorns (14-12-2) is sitting a half a game back of Lubbock High (7-6 in district) with a 7-5 mark in the league.
Against the Lady Sandies, Caprock feasted on AHS pitching slamming out 19 runs on 18 hits. Anahi Cadena played a pivotal role in that win for the Lady Longhorns going 4-for-6 with a homer and a pair of RBIs. Teammate Grace Morales was also very clutch in the victory going 4-for-6 herself with a double and an RBI. Morales also gutted out 4.2 innings of work in the circle and was hit with nine runs but did get four K’s.
On Friday, the Caprock offense was once again very effective but Cooper was able to put together a five-run bottom of the fifth to get the win. Caprock still finished with 18 hits with Valdez going 3-for-5 with a pair of RBIs. Teammate Annalyse Gonzalez had a superb outing with a double to highlight a three-hit day and registered a pair of RBIs.
District quick hits
It wasn’t easy, however, the Dumas Demonettes remained unbeaten in District 4-4A after another week. Dumas downed Perryton 15-1 on Tuesday and then rallied back for a 5-2 win against Randall on Friday. The Lady Raiders actually led 2-1 in Friday’s game heading into the top of the seventh before Dumas plated four runs highlighted by back-to-back RBI singles from Vida Fierro and Madi Zubia giving the Demonettes a 3-2 advantage. Star Cortes then delivered much needed insurance with a two-run double. On top of her double, Cortes worked all seven innings in the win against Randall scattering three hits, allowing two runs with three strikeouts. Dumas, which has clinched a playoff berth, is now 25-2-1 on the year and a perfect 10-0 in district. Randall falls to 21-7 overall and 7-3 in the league.
West Plains stayed two games back of Dumas with wins against Pampa 9-3 on Tuesday followed by a 4-0 shutout of Hereford on Thursday. The Lady Wolves (19-8) are now 8-2 in District 4-4A. Jaylen Kaps worked 13.1 innings in the two victories without allowing an earned run with 23 total K’s. Sydney Garza was a combined 3-for-6 with a two-run home run against Pampa, and totaled three RBIs.
Canyon is also two games back of Dumas and tied for second with West Plains after beating Hereford 7-2 on Tuesday and Perryton 20-0 on Thursday. The Lady Eagles (18-10 overall, 8-2 in district) saw Bayleigh Berks go 3-for-3 against Hereford with a homer and three RBIs. Against Perryton, Brooklynne Garrett was dominant in the cirle, tossing five innings of no-hit softball with 11 strikeouts.
The Childress Lady Bobcats have clinched a UIL Class 3A Division II playoff berth and have taken a step closer at clinching a District 1-3A championship by outlasting Bushland 11-9 in a thriller Thursday afternoon. Bushland (11-14, 5-2 in district) built an early 7-2 lead only to see the Lady Bobcats rally back with a five-run third and a three-run fifth. Jordyn Mora hit two homers to lead Childress while finishing with five RBIs. The Lady Bobcats are now 19-1-1 overall and a perfect 7-0 in league play.
River Road picked up a pair of wins this past week to stay in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Lady Wildcats tamed Tulia 28-10 on Tuesday and then beat Canadian 5-2 on Thursday. River Road is currently sitting at 15-12 on the year and 4-2 in District 1-3A. Ashlynn Ferris did her job for River Road in both wins. Standout AshLynn Ferris torched Tulia by hitting for the cycle going 5-for-7 highlighted by a pair of homers and a triple. Against Canadian, Ferris was lights out in the circle by tossing a complete game, allowing two runs while running up 11 strikeouts.
In District 1-2A, Gruver picked up a pair of wins over Highland Park on Thursday. The Lady Hounds won the first game 9-3, and then took the second contest 14-11. The Lady Hounds are currently 5-4 on the year and 3-3 in league play. Natalie Harper had a big game in the night cap against the Lady Hornets going 2-for-4 with a double and four RBIs. Despite the loss, Highland Park pitcher Kaitlin Lucas did go over 300 strikeouts for her career.
The Sanford-Fritch Lady Eagles are still atop the District 1-2A standings thanks to defeating Gruver 12-5 on Tuesday. The Lady Eagles (11-6-1) are in first place at 4-1 in the district. Fritch rounded out the week by defeating Follett in a league crossover game 15-0 Friday. In the win against Gruver, Bryleigh Carr went 4-for-5 with a double, driving in five runs.