By: Will Jacobs
Last weekend, the Plainview Lady Bears Softball team traveled to Huntsville to play in the Class 3A Regional Tournament. Throughout the tournament, the Lady Bears would face off against Colbert Heights High School, East Lawrence High School, and Lauderdale County High School.
The first game came on Friday against the Colbert Heights Lady Wildcats. This game stayed tied at zero until Plainview took a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the third inning. However, in the top of the fourth inning, Colbert Heights scored one run to cut the Plainview lead to just 2-1.
Plainview failed to score in the bottom of the fourth inning, and the Lady Wildcats managed to score two more runs in the top of the fifth inning to take a 3-2 lead over the Lady Bears. Plainview tied the game up in the bottom of the fifth inning by scoring one run to make the score 3-3 late in the game.
Plainview kept the Lady Wildcats from scoring in the top of the sixth inning to keep the game tied at three. In the bottom of the sixth inning, Plainview rallied to score eight runs to take an 11-3 lead over Colbert Heights.
Colbert Heights managed to score two more runs in the top of the seventh inning to cut the Plainview lead to 11-5, but Plainview’s defense would hold on to get three outs to defeat the Lady Wildcats 11-5 and move on into the next round of the Regional Tournament. Kenzi Traylor finished the game with seven innings pitched and two strikeouts.
The next game for Plainview came later Friday night where they faced off against the East Lawrence Lady Eagles. Plainview was the away team in this game, and they jumped out to an early 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning. East Lawrence managed to earn back the lost run in the bottom of the first inning to tie the game up at 1-1.
Plainview’s offense was dominate in this game and it all started in the second inning. They scored five runs to take an early 6-1 lead over the Lady Eagles. East Lawrence gained back two runs in the bottom of the second inning to cut the lead to 6-3.
After a scoreless third inning for both teams, Plainview scored four runs in the top of the fourth inning to take a 10-3 lead.
In the top of the fifth inning, Plainview added twelve more runs to their lead to take a 22-3 lead over East Lawrence. The Lady Eagles only scored one run in the bottom of the fifth inning to cut the lead to 22-4, but the game ended due to the mercy rule giving Plainview a dominating win and another trip to the Regional Finals. Ava Jacobs finished the game with four innings pitched and six strikeouts, while Lily Boswell finished the game with one inning pitched and two strikeouts.
The last game came on Saturday where Plainview faced off against the Lauderdale County Lady Tigers. Plainview lost the coin toss before the game and was the visiting team.
The Lady Bears took an early lead in the top of the first inning by scoring two runs giving them a 2-0 edge over the Lady Tigers. Lauderdale County scored one run in the bottom of the first inning off of a solo homerun to cut the lead to 2-1.
Plainview would add to their lead in the top of the second inning by scoring two more runs to make the score 4-1. Lauderdale County failed to score and was unable to cut into the lead. Plainview again added two more runs to their lead in the top of the third inning to make the score 6-1. The Lady Tigers would earn one run back in the bottom of the third inning to cut the lead to 6-2.
The Lady Bears added one more run to their lead in the top of the fourth inning to make the score 7-2. Lauderdale County would again fail to score to cut into the lead.
After a scoreless fifth inning for both teams, Plainview added three more runs to their lead in the top of the sixth inning to make the score 10-2. The Lady Tigers were unable to add any runs in this inning also.
Plainview did not score in the top of the seventh inning, but Lauderdale County added one more run off of a solo homerun in the bottom of the seventh to make the score 10-3. Plainview’s defense would hold on to get three outs that gave the Lady Bears a victory, the Class 3A Regional Championship Title, and a trip to Montgomery to play in the Class 3A State Tournament. Kenzi Traylor finished the game with seven innings pitched and three strikeouts.
Plainview’s next game will be Thursday at 10:45 am at Montgomery where they will face off against the Pleasant Valley Lady Raiders.