With a playoff birth and a higher seed on the line, the Bowie softball team came up just short on Monday of securing that in the first game of the three-team playoff on Monday in Henrietta.
Following their 15-0 three inning win at Nocona on Friday that saw the Lady Rabbits play great, it set up a three team tie for the third, fourth and fifth spot in district between Paradise and Boyd.
The first day happened on Monday at Henrietta with Paradise and Boyd playing the first game. Paradise ended up winning so Bowie played them right after win. If the Lady Rabbits won, they would secure not only a playoff spot, but the third seed.
Bowie looked to strike early in the top of the first. Taylor McCarty got on base with a one out single. She stole second the next batter hit a bouncing grounder towards third base that forced the third basemen to come get it to get the out at first.
This allowed McCarty to advance to third and then made the aggressive attempt to reach for home. The throw home had to be perfect and in a play that was so close it could have gone either way, McCarty was called out and the inning was over.
The Lady Panthers were able to strike first in the bottom of the first. A player got on base with a one out single. The next batter hit a double to right field that scored the base runner to go up 1-0. The batter advanced to third on the throw home and with only one out, Paradise looked to be in position to score more.
Luckily, pitcher Kalee Case was able to strike out the next batter and force the next batter to fly out to left field to end the first inning.
Bowie looked to try and equal them with a leadoff walk drawn by Gracie Bentley. The next batter grounded into a fielder’s choice out at second. Season Eudey replaced the runner at first. She advanced to second on a sacrificed bunt for the second out. Next batter Callie Melton hit a ground ball single to shortstop that put runners at the corners. Unfortunately, the next batter struck out for the third out.
The next inning was the one that got away from the Lady Rabbits. Six hits, a hit batter and a drawn walk scored six runs for the Lady Panthers to put them up 7-0. Maylie Short had to be brought in to give Paradise a different look as they were hitting every ball in the strike zone. Bowie was able to put two runners on base in the top of the third with two outs as Short drew a walk and Katelyn Allison was hit a by a pitch. Again, the next batter could not get them home as they struck out to end the scoring chance.
A leadoff walk from Paradise looked like they may not be done extending their lead, but catcher Carrington Davis was able to catch the base runner trying to steal second with a perfect throw for the first out. Short was able to strike out the next batter and force a ground out to second base to end the third.
Bowie finally got on the board in the fourth inning. Davis led off with a double that she extended into a triple due to an error. Chelsey Ketchum drew a walk and Emily Cox was hit by a pitch to load the bases with two outs.
Next batter Short was able to draw a walk to score a run and cut the lead to 7-1. Unfortunately, the next batter grounded out to the shortstop before the Lady Rabbits could do any more damage.
Paradise extended their lead more in the bottom of the fourth. They were able to load the bases with two outs. The next batter hit a ground ball and Bowie committed an error that allowed two runs to score and put the Lady Panthers up 9-1.
In the top of the fifth, Allison led off by drawing a walk. She was able to advance to second on a sacrifice bunt. Davis then drew a walk. They both advanced to second and third on a passed ball. Melton was then able to hit a fly ball to center field for a double that scored both runners and cut the lead down to 9-3 heading into the bottom of the fifth.
With Short forcing the next three batters to fly out without much resistance, it looked like the momentum was swinging their way, but they were running out of innings.
In the top of the sixth, Short got on base with a one out double to left field. She was able to advance to third with a throwing error. McCarty drew a walk and was able to steal second. Next batter Allison was able to hit a line drive single that scored both runners to cut the lead to 9-5.
After a ground out, Davis was able to reach first due to throwing error that put runners at the corners with two outs. Unfortunately, the next batter grounded out to second base to put an end to any more scoring. Short and the defense kept the momentum going with a strike out and two infield pop ups heading into the final inning.
Unfortunately, that momentum did not get going in the seventh innings. The Lady Rabbits grounded out twice and struck out to end the game, losing 9-5.

To read more, pick up a copy of the mid-week edition of the Bowie News.