Lady Tigers take down Longview 7-4 in 10 innings to clinch playoff spot!

The Lady Tigers traveled to Longview on Thursday in an effort to avenge an earlier District 15-5A loss and did so with a 7-4 win in 10 innings. The win clinched a playoff spot for the Lady Tigers by pushing their district mark to 6-5 and 17-8 overall. MP only has one game left in the regular season, a match up with Texas High on Friday, April 22nd.

The Lady Tigers broke through with the first run of the game in top of the second, as MP loaded the bases with a single by Jordan Batchelor, a walk by Morgan Hill and a bunt single by Kelsey Howard. Jordan Hargrave delivered a sacrifice fly to left, plating Batchelor for the 1-0 lead.

The Lady Tigers added a pair of runs in the third, as Ella Cross reached base on an infield single. Following a sac bunt from Paris Beard, Conlee Zachry slapped a single to the outfield. Following a strikeout, Hill delivered a two-RBI single to left field, pushing the score to 3-0.

MP would go up 4-0 in the top of the sixth, as Casey Jones reached safely on a two-out single to right field. Cross followed it up with a triple down the left field line to score Jones.

Longview would push the game into extra innings and erased the 4-0 deficit with one swing of the bat with an one-out grand slam, tying the game at 4-4.

After dodging a two-out double in the home half of the ninth, MP pushed across the deciding three runs in the top of the 10th. Hill reached on a bunt single and was followed by a single to right field from Howard. Amariya Miller slapped a single to left to score Hill. Howard scampered home on a error and Miller crossed the plate on a two-out single by Cross.

The Lady Tigers turned a 5-3-6 double play to end the game and secure the 7-4 win.

MP tallied 14 hits in the game, led by Cross with four base-knocks. Howard finished with three hits, as Zachry and Hill slapped two apiece.

Zachry went the distance inside the circle. She allowed four runs on 10 hits and struck out six in the 10-inning performance.

“I’m very proud of the way we played tonight. We have a young team, but we didn’t play like it. We found ways to push across runs early and when we faced adversity towards the end, we didn’t waver! We just continued to get after it. They knew going in what a win would mean and found ways to scratch and claw!”

Write up by Coach Jeremy Tarrant
Photos of the Hallsville game by John Whitten