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Chad Wilson, Sports Editor 469-517-1455 | chad.wilson@wninews.com
Red Oak baseball finishes in third place
Sunday, May 2, 2010 Waxahachie Daily Light 3B
By ALEX RILEY
Daily Light sports writer
Call it an unlucky 13. The Red Oak baseball team played Forney to a 13-inning affair in the regular season finale. It was the home standing Jackrabbits that came up with a onerun win, 4-3, in the bottom of the 13th . Tied at 3-3, Red Oak had a runner on third with one out in the top half of the 13th as a chopper in the infield looked like it might score the go-ahead run. Instead, Forney tossed the ball to home for the out on a questionable call that ended the threat. The bottom half of the inning proved to be the end of the road as a leadoff double on a ball deflected off the glove at first started the inning. With a twostrike count, Forney got a single to the outfield that scored the winning run. “We had plenty of opportunities. I’d hate to know how many runners we stranded,” coach Heath Autrey said. “I told them I was proud of them because they competed their tails off and that’s all we can ask of them.” Red Oak (18-12, 8-4 district) finishes as the third seed form District 15-4A for the upcoming playoffs. The Hawks will face the No. 2 seed from District 16-4A. That opponent was determined Saturday afternoon through a seeding tournament in Waxahachie between the teams of Midlothian, Ennis and Hewitt Midway. Results were unavailable as of press time. For full details of who, where and when Red Oak will play in the bi-district round of the playoffs, see Monday’s edition of the Daily Light. Contact Alex at alex.riley@wniews. com or at 469-517-1456.
Photo by Alex Riley/The Daily Light
Second baseman Zach Gonzales and the Red Oak baseball teamlost to Forney on Friday night to finish as the No. 3 seed from District 15-4A.
Photo by Alex Riley/The Daily Light
Midlothian senior Jade Laurence slides into second ahead of the tag by Red Oak’s Amber Tucker. Laurence would advance to third on a wild pitch but failed to score as Midlothian was held to just two hits on the night. Tucker would come up with two of the Lady Hawks’ five hits, including a two-run single, that helped pace the team to an opening game win.
No margin of error Early errors cost Lady Panthers in opener By ALEX RILEY
Daily Light sports writer
RED OAK – It’s been said that softball is a game of inches. On Friday night, every inch counted. In a game between county rivals, two first inning mistakes proved to be the difference as Red Oak capitalized on an error and failed strikeout play to score four runs and hold off Midlothian for a 4-0 win in the first game of a bidistrict playoff series. It was a game of standout defensive efforts by both sides as Red Oak’s outfield consistently made big catches on the run. A diving grab by Lady Hawk shortstop Tara McKenney over her opposite shoulder saved a hit in the top of the sixth. On the flip side, Midlothian’s defense kept 12 balls in the infield and played solid. The difference came on that one inch. “We were able to capitalize on several of their errors in that first inning and that helped us out a great deal,” Red Oak coach Teresa Thibodeaux said. After Red Oak’s Marley Dickert retired the Lady Panthers (2411) in order in the first inning, the Lady Hawks (19-11) opened the game win an infield single by McKenney. But the senior was called out for leaving the bag too early during the next at-bat. With two down, junior catcher Erica Brown reached on an error to keep the inning alive and start the slide that would doom Midlothian. Jaimi Munoz followed with a swinging bunt single
Lady Panthers even series with 4-3 win MIDLOTHIAN – The Midlothian softball team won the second game of the bidistrict playoff series, 4-3 on Saturday to force a third game. The winner of Monday’s game will advance to the area round to face the winner of Mt. Pleasant and Lindale. Full details of Saturday’s playoff game will be available in Monday’s edition of the Daily Light. -Alex Riley to put two on. In an unorthodox move, Thibodeaux called for a pinch hitter as Katelyn Curry stepped in for Lauren Tamez before her first at-bat. Curry would strikeout but ball got away allowing her to load the bases. A walk to Tilly Webb scored the first run of the game, followed by a wild pitch during Amber Tucker’s at-bat to make it 2-0. Tucker would then lace a single to right field that scored two for the quick 4-0 lead. That proved to be all the offense Red Oak needed as freshman pitcher Marley Dickert was in a groove. Despite only getting two strikeouts, Dickert allowed just two hits, both to Midlothian outfielder Savannah Valderas, as just three Lady Panthers reached base. Coupled with that defensive, the Lady Hawks were too much to
Photo by Alex Riley/The Daily Light
Red Oak freshman Marley Dickert outdueled Midlothian junior Whitney Cowley in the 4-0 win. Dickert allowed just two hits while striking out two while Cowley allowed four runs on five hits with five strikeouts. The Midlothian defense committed two costly errors in the game to allow the runs. overcome. “I felt more relaxed because my catcher helps me a lot and calms me,” Dickert said. “I knew they were a good team I just didn’t know how the game was going to go.” “Last year we were worried because we lost Shelby Hall. (Marley’s) just stepped in and she’s her own person. She’s not another Shelby, she’s her own person doing a tremendous job and has really taken the team on her shoul-
ders,” Thibodeaux said. “The girls have a great deal of respect for her and she’s earned it. She’s a lot of fun to watch.” Dickert’s effort was just one half of the pitcher’s duel as Midlothian starter Whitney Cowley had nearly as good a game. The junior gave up just two hits that left the infield, both to Tucker, as the other three were infield See SOFTBALL, Page 4B
Panthers close strong Midlothian ties for second place with 8-2 win over Waco By ALEX RILEY
Daily Light sports writer
A few weeks ago, Midlothian baseball coach Ray Hydes set a goal for this team – win out. After an extra-inning loss to Hewitt Midway back on April 16, the Panthers were in a battle for positioning in the district race. Thanks to some loses by other teams and a strong finish in district play, Midlothian rallied back and finished the season with an 8-2 win over Waco High on Friday night. The victory tied the Panthers for second place in the District 16-4A standings with Midway and Ennis. It also extends the team’s district win streak to three games. The three teams played a threegame seeding determination tournament in Waxahachie on Saturday with the first game set to start at 11 a.m. Results from those games were unavailable as of press time. Midway and Ennis took part in the early game with the winner getting Midlothian. If Midlothian won that second game, it would earn the No. 2 seed in the playoffs. If the Panthers loss, they would face the
loser of the first game for a game to determine third and fourth place. “Our kids really pushed it up and we’ve just been playing good here lately. I think we’re going to fall into a good spot. It’ll be fun tomorrow, just go out and play, you know you’re in it and just playing for a spot now,” coach Ray Hydes said. “We’re excited about where we’re at. Now we’ve just got to go play and decide whether we’re second, third or fourth.” On Friday, the Panthers (19-11, 10-4 district) got a solid outing from Colton Seeton as the Panther starter went five innings. For the night, Midlothian allowed just two runs on three hits for the team’s third straight district game with two runs or less allowed. While the pitching and defense were clicking, the bats went to work as Conner Roberts drove in two runs while Cameron Sissom and Blaine Blackburn got timely hits. The outing was one Hydes described as team effort. “We had some big hits. Cameron Sissom got a couple, Blaine Blackburn really swung the bat
Midlothian was set to play the winner of Midway vs. Ennis on Saturday afternoon in a seeding determination game. Results of that game were not available as of press time. A full recap of the game will be in Monday’s edition of the Daily Light. good today, Conner Roberts drove in two runs,” Hydes said. “We had some other kids hit the ball well. It was just kind of a total game effort, there wasn’t any really big heroes.” Contact Alex at alex.riley@ wninews.com or at 469-517-1456.
Photo by Alex Riley/The Daily Light
Colton Seeton picked up the win with five innings of work as Midlothian tied for second place in the district. The Panthers played a seeding determination game on Saturday.