SPORTS
Saint Jo beats Perrin-Whitt 3-1
The Saint Jo Lady Panthers started their playoff run on Thursday against Perrin-Whitt at Chico High School.
Having skipped the bi-district, the Lady Panthers beat the Lady Pirates in four sets to win the area round and continue their season.
The first set saw Saint Jo come out smoking as it jumped out to a huge 12-3 lead thanks to some good serving and solid play early on as Perrin-Whitt looked out of sorts. Things did turn a bit as the Lady Pirates had their own run, winning five points in a row to cut the lead to 12-8.
Fortunately, that seemed to focus Saint Jo as the two teams played pretty competitively for the rest of the set. Both teams had their issues with shanking balls out of the field of play and other unforced errors. With the Lady Panthers huge lead though, Saint Jo easily won 25-17 to take an early lead.
The second set was more competitive throughout. Saint Jo was playing from behind for most of the set, but never more than three points. The score was tied at 20-20 as the set was coming down the stretch.
At the end it could have gone either way with the score tied 24-24, but Perrin-Whitt won the next two points to win the set 26-24 and tie the match.
The third set started close, but the Lady Panthers quickly pulled away to make the set another easy win. Up 8-7, Saint Jo won 12 of the next 15 points to go up double figures. Even with the Lady Pirates playing better to close the set, it was not enough to make up much ground. The Lady Panthers won 25-17 to take a set lead.
The fourth set was a must win for Perrin-Whitt if it wanted a chance to win in the fifth set. The Lady Pirates had a small lead early in the set and held a narrow 8-7 lead.
From there, Saint Jo went on another long run thanks to their serving. The Lady Panthers won nine of the next 10 points to take a 16-9 lead.
That seven point lead would prove to be the difference as the teams played even the rest of the way. The Lady Panthers won 25-18 to win the set and the match.
The win puts Saint Jo through to the regional quarterfinals for the third straight year. Like last year, the Lady Panthers will take on county neighbors Prairie Valley.
Saint Jo beat the Lady Bulldogs last year on its way to making the regional final for the first time in school history.
The two teams met back in August, where Prairie Valley got some revenge with a win in four sets at home. The teams will play at 6:30 p.m. at North Central Texas College on Nov. 12.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the weekend edition of the Bowie News.
The Nocona Lady Indians beat Saint Jo at home on Saturday morning.
The Lady Indians won 16-1 after four innings due to run-rule against the smaller school.
Nocona was coming off a competitive loss at Collinsville earlier in the week while the Lady Panthers were hoping to compete after a busy week of their athletes doing everything else besides just softball.
The Lady Indians easily won the first matchup between the teams in March, 19-2 and it was more of the same on Saturday.
Saint Jo struck first to start the game off well. Jordyn O’Neal hit a one out single. Krista Reeves followed with a walk after O’Neal had stolen second base and had advanced to third thanks to an error trying to throw her out. A wild pitch then allowed her to score to put the Lady Panthers up 1-0.
The lead did not last long. Nocona’s first two batters drew walks which set up Abby Hill to drive them both in with a single to right field.
Despite giving up a single and a walk later in the inning, Saint Jo’s defense did not allow another run. A line out and groundout to the shortstop while picking off a runner attempting to steal got the Lady Panthers out of the inning unscarred.
The Lady Indians led 2-1.
That was about as competitive as it got. In the second inning, Nocona’s bats got going. Two singles and a hit batter loaded the bases up with no outs.
Reagan Phipps drew a walk that drove in a run. Hill hit another two RBI single. Skye Kirby followed with a two RBI double.
After the first out, Allie Sutton drove in one run with a single. There was a fly out for out two, before a runner came in to score after a passed ball. Finally, an error allowed two more runs to score on the base paths.
Nocona had scored nine runs and led 11-1 to break the game open heading into the third inning.
Taylor Patrick hit a double, with O’Neal and Reeves following with singles. Unfortunately for Saint Jo, Patrick was thrown out before the hits attempting to steal a base so the Lady Panthers scored no runs from this.
The Lady Indians kept pouring on the runs. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases up with no outs. Tinley Cable then hit an RBI single. Shelby Swell was hit by a pitch that drove in another run.
After two strikeouts, Evelyn Marquez drove in two more runs on a double to put Nocona up 15-1, coming up one run short of ending the game early.
The Lady Indians scored that one run in the fourth inning. After Phipps drew a leadoff walk, Hill hit a triple that drove her in to end the game.
Nocona won 16-1.
To read the full story, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.
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