UIL State Softball Roundup Day 3: Decatur can’t keep pace with Liberty in Class 4A semis

CLASS 4A SEMIFINALS

Liberty 9, Decatur 1

The Decatur softball team ran into buzz saw in the two-time defending state champions from Liberty on Thursday afternoon at McCombs field.

Liberty pitcher Brookelyn Taylor (26-4) scattered four hits and the Panthers homered twice to down the Eagles 9-1 in a Class 4A semifinal.

Liberty (37-8) will advance to the 4A title game scheduled for 10 a.m. on Saturday. The Panthers have dominated Class 4A recently making their fourth trip to the championship game since 2018, winning the previous three times in 2018, 21 and 22.

Liberty is 7-0 all time at the state tournament. Decatur (30-9-1) is now 0-3 at state after bowing out in the semis in 2002 and 2019.

Taylor had a perfect game until Chayse Freeman drew a two-out walk in the fourth. Decatur catcher Madi Moreland broke up the no hitter with a solid, one-out single to left in the fifth.

“That’s the thing with these girls especially in the playoffs,” said Decatur coach Bryan Chaney. “Our point of emphasis has been to be mentally strong and have grit and they showed it all through playoffs and honestly we showed it off today too.”

Taylor went the full seven innings allowing one earned run with two walks and five strikeouts. The Eagles finally pushed a run across in the seventh against Taylor.

Moreland lined a doubled to the wall in center just out of the reach of Hollie Thomas. Macy Helton followed with a lined single to left, pushing Moreland to third. Madi Davis bunted Moreland home, before Taylor got a pop out to short to end the game.

The Panthers jumped on Decatur starter Macey Jones (19-5) for five runs in the third, sending nine hitters to the plate. Thomas highlighted the inning with a towering three-run home run onto 21st Street for a 3-0 lead.

Kylee Bishop doubled off the base of the fence in left to drive in two more for a 5-0 lead. Liberty rapped out 14 hits on the day.

Liberty scored twice in the fourth and twice in the sixth. Bailee Slack led off the sixth with a home run just over the wall in right to give the Panthers an 8-0 lead.

“We ran into a pretty good team,” said Chaney. “They were good and they put those balls in play. The fact we were here, kept it from being a run rule, got one across, they fought to the very end and that’s all I can ask for and I’m very proud of them.”

Corpus Christi Calallen 5, Aubrey 1

Corpus Christi Calallen scored four runs in the top of the third then pitcher Jordyn Thibodeaux took care of the rest as the Wildcats downed Aubrey 5-1 in the second Class 4A semifinal on Thursday at McCombs Field.

Calallen (29-6-2) will face Liberty (37-8) for the Class 4A title at 10 a.m. on Saturday, back at McCombs Field in a rematch of the 2021 championship tilt. This is the Wildcats third trip to the title game in as many appearances at state, all since 2019.

Aubrey (34-8) was making its first appearance at state since 2007 and fourth overall. The Chaparrals have never won a softball state title.

Makenzie Mounts doubled to lead off the third for the Wildcats. With one out Megan Geyer and Mia Flores had back-to-back infield hits to load the bases.

Audryna Almarez then blasted a bases clearing double to the wall in right center to put Calallen up 3-0. Alaunah Almarez followed hitting the chalk with a double down the left field line to score Angelina Vela who was pinch running for Audryna Almarez.

The Wildcats added a run in the seventh when Audryna Almarez, who went 3-for-4 on the night, doubled off the top of the wall in right center, moving Geyer, who started the inning with an infield single, to third. Alaunah Almarez then lofted a sacrifice fly ball to left to score Geyer and up the lead to 5-0.

Aubrey finally got to Thibodeaux in the bottom of the seventh. With two out, Mya Cherry doubled off the wall in left-center driving in Bree Jones, who led off with a walk, to cut the lead to 5-1.

The game was halted in the seventh briefly when Keeli Fuller, who followed Mya Cherry, was hit in the helmet by a pitch. Fuller looked stunned for a few seconds then wilted to the ground. She walked off under her own power a couple of minutes later.

Thibodeaux got a gound ball to second to end the game. Thibodeaux (20-2), a freshman, allowed the one earned run on six hits with two walks a four strikeouts.

CLASS 3A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

Coahoma 4, Kingsville Santa Gertrudis Academy 2

Coahoma can finally add another softball state championship trophy to the trophy case.

The Bulldogs have been to 12 state tournaments and played in championship games seven times now, but they’d only been able to capture one title, in 1998, before Thursday at McCombs Field.

Coahoma, the state runner-up last season, and Kingsville Santa Gertrudis Academy battled back and forth before the Bulldogs scored late and held off the Lions 4-2 in the Class 3A championship game.

Bulldog’s pitcher Hannah Wells, the championship game MVP, starred at the plate and on the mound for Coahoma (36-3). Wells (20-1) tossed seven innings of five-hit ball allowing two runs, both earned, with four walks and four strikeouts.

With Coahoma up 2-1 heading into the top of the seventh inning, Wells followed Christian Everett’s single to center with a blast over the center field wall to give the Bulldogs a 4-1 cushion.

Santa Gertrudis (40-6) got a run back in the bottom of the seventh when Julia Guerrero led off getting hit by a pitch then scoring two outs later on a single by Izzy De La Santos to right-center. But Wells got a fly out to right for the final out.

Wells was 2-for-2 at the plate with a double and the home run in addition to walking twice.

Taylor Reyes was 2-for-4 with an RBI for the Lions and D’Andra Fernandez (25-5) took the loss on the mound for Santa Gertrudis

This story was originally published June 1, 2023 at 7:32 PM.