MADISONVILLE— Thorndale’s series opener with Latexo came down to the final pitch.
THS freshman Karis Ginn, who’s largely made a name for herself from the circle this season, was at the plate with Natalie Garcia on third and Bailee Baker on second with two outs.
What was the score? The game was tied at zero in the bottom of the eighth inning. Keep in mind that they play seven inning games in high school, so this was extra inning action.
Despite the Lady Dogs struggling from the plate that evening, all of their troubles were washed away when Ginn singled on a hard-hit ground ball to the shortstop that brought in Garcia for the game-winning run. This gave Thorndale not only a 1-0 victory, but also a 1-0 lead in their three-game series with the Lady Tigers.
Garcia led at the plate with three hits while Emilee Baker and Kassidy Eubanks each put up two. Ginn, Bailee Baker and Reagyn Trahan each had one.
The freshman ace also struck out eight and allowed three hits that evening.
GAME TWO—Unlike their series opener, the Lady Dogs didn’t allow Latexo much hope the following day in Mumford.
Thorndale put up three runs in the first and three more in the second and won convincingly 12-2 after five innings.
Kelsey Kovar, Raeghan Carlson, Landri Martinka and both Baker girls all had two hits while Eubanks, Trahan, Ginn and Garcia each had one. Carlson and Martinka both hit home runs. Ginn struck out four and allowed three hits in five innings.
“I love the way this series went,” THS coach Lance Betak said. “We were able to pull out of a tight game when we couldn’t get a lot going on offense.”
“Our defense and pitching kept us in the game long enough to allow us to push one across,” he said.
Betak also talked about how winning game one in extra innings gave the Lady Dogs a boost going into game two.
“I could tell from the start of the second game that (Latexo) was a little down from losing the opening game,” he said. “When we were able to get some runs early and increase the pressure on them, I knew we were in good shape.”
GANADO—Lady Dog softball were set to face off with their next opponent Wednesday in La Grange, fourth-ranked Ganado.
The Maidens are coming off a 12-2 win over Flatonia, who spent much of the season ranked.
“Ganado is a really sound team,” Betak said. “They have solid pitching and defense but they are also really good at bunting.”
“We will have to control their bunting by keeping runners off the bases and we’ll need some timely hits to score some runs,” he added.
For more information on the series, look on page 1B.
Thorndale vs. Ganado Regional Semi-Finals at La Grange High School
Game 1: 6:30 p.m., Wednesday
Game 2: 6:30 p.m., Thursday
Game 3: 2 p.m., Saturday
Tickets: Sold online via La Grange Athletics website, $5 per students/adults.
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