The Lady Tigers softball squad took two out of three games versus Whitehouse this past week to become Bi-District champions and advance to the Area round. The series included two dominant wins by both teams followed by an extra inning back and forth game that saw Mount Pleasant come out on top. The first game was played at Whitehouse and the final two games were played on the Lady Tigers’ home turf.

In Game 1 on Thursday, both teams struggled to get anything going until the bottom of the fourth when Whitehouse struck first. A throwing error led to a Lady Cat run and a 1-0 lead. The Lady Tigers would answer in the top of the fifth with back-to-back hits by the Zachry sisters to knot the game at 1-1. The bottom of the inning, however, would open the floodgates as Whitehouse crossed three runs on the plate followed by another six runs in the next inning. Mount Pleasant would score single runs in the final two innings but would fall 10-3. BreAsia Hargrave took the loss giving up 10 runs (4 ER), 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Carson and Conlee Zachry combined for four of the Lady Tigers seven hits including two doubles by Carson. Jordyn Hargrave also added two singles.

Game 2 was a different story as the Lady Tigers returned to their home field on Friday evening down 0-1 in the series and facing elimination. Mount Pleasant would score often and early jumping out to a 3-0 lead after one inning and leading 7-2 after three innings. The Lady Tigers would score two more runs to Whitehouse’s one run to take the 9-3 victory and salvage their state title hope. Conlee Zachry was dominant on the mound giving up only three unearned runs and two hits. She walked six but stranded most of those runners while striking out three. She also notched two hits and knocked in two RBI at the plate. Jalissa Alvarez, Jordyn Hargrave, Paris Beard, and Morgan Hills also connected on two hits each for the Lady Tigers.

The rubber match followed shortly after Game 2 with the Lady Tigers hoping to ride the momentum they generated into a trophy ceremony. Whitehouse had other ideas, however, jumping out to a quick 4-0 lead after the first two innings. Mount Pleasant would counter with a single run in the bottom of the fifth, but Whitehouse would tack on two more runs in the top of the sixth to make the score 6-1. With an inning and a half left to play, the Lady Tigers bats came alive with a four-run sixth inning which included a Jalissa Alvarez home run, to cut the lead to 6-5. The Lady Cats would add one more run as it looked like they were going to take the game leading 7-5. In the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Tigers got two runners on when Carson Zachry came to the plate with two outs. Zachry battled the count to 2-2 before ripping a liner off the right centerfield fence that nearly ended the game. Both runners scored as on the two-run double sending the game to extra innings tied 7-7. Conlee Zachry, pitching seven innings of strong relief, would keep the Lady Cats off the board and give the Lady Tigers a chance to win it in the bottom of the eighth. Jordyn Hargrave and BreAsia Hargrave both reached base on walks to start the inning before Paris Beard lined into a double play. Hargrave was able to advance to third putting the winning run 60 feet away. Morgan Hill would put the ball in the air to centerfield followed by an error on the Lady Cat centerfielder that allowed Hargrave to scamper home for the win, 8-7. Conlee Zachry finished with 9 strikeouts in 7 innings of work getting the win. Morgan Hill went 3-5 at the dish while Carson Zachry, Jalissa Alvarez, and Ella Cross each notched two hits apiece.

The Lady Tigers will play the Area round this coming weekend versus the winner of District 13 Royse City. Royse City recently knocked off Ennis 7-2, 8-3 to advance and finished 27-2 on the season ranked #9 in the state. Follow the Mount Pleasant Tiger Softball Facebook page or www.mpisd.net for location and start times.

By Drew Barkley
Photos by John Whitten