CALDWELL—After taking down Normangee, 8-1 in their series opener on Friday evening, Lady Dog head coach Lance Betak wanted his team to make a statement during the beginning of Saturday afternoon’s game two.
“In game one, we pieced together one run here, two runs there and we kind of gradually built ourselves up,” Betak said. “Going into game two as the visiting team, I told them during that first at-bat ‘hey let’s score like two, three or four runs’ to make it tough for them.”
Lady Dog softball players responded to their coach by scoring nine runs in the top of the first, racking up seven hits and setting the pace for the next five innings to win game two, 15-1.
Emilee Baker led the way at the plate, going four-for-four with a home run in the fifth inning, while Natalie Garcia went three-for-three. Reagyn Trahan, Bailee Baker and Karis Ginn had two hits each. Kelsey Kovar and Raeghan Carlson each had one.
Ginn also struck out seven from the circle.
GAME ONE—A day before, the Lady Dogs opened up the area round with an 8-1 win over Normangee.
THS started off strong. With two outs, Carlson and Kovar hit back-to-back doubles with Bailee Baker and Ginn following them with back-to-back singles that helped produce two runs in the bottom of the first.
The Lady Dogs hit their stride in the third, scoring four runs to take a 6-0 lead. THS put up one more run in the fourth and the fifth, which was enough to take game one.
Ginn led at the plate, going three-for-three while Bailee Baker, Carlson and Landri Martinka had two hits. Kovar also ended the evening with two hits including a home run in fourth.
Ginn struck out eight and threw a two-hitter in her second playoff softball game ever.
THIS WEEK—Back in round three for the second straight season, the Lady Dogs will next face Latexo.
LHS went through their District 25-2A slate without a loss and punched their way through opponents Snook and Mason.
The Lady Tigers opened up the post-season with a 5-0 shutout over SHS and sealed their first round victory with an 11-2 win in game two.
After a nine-day break between round one and two, the Houston County school beat Mason, 11-0. Lauren Woddard was a force in the circle, striking out nine.
Thorndale and Latexo will play in a three-game series with game one in Madisonville on Thursday at 5 p.m. Game two takes both schools to Mumford on Friday, with the first pitch being scheduled for 7 p.m.
If necessary, game three will bring both teams back to Madisonville on Saturday for a 5 p.m. start.
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