Whitesboro earns dramatic sweep
May 8—BELLS — The throw from center field arrived just in time Saturday afternoon to cut down the tying run and clinch a playoff series.
The Whitesboro softball team swept Whitewright in the area round Friday and Saturday. The Lady Cats won both games 4-3 at Bells High School.
Whitesboro (20-5-1) came from behind to walk off the Lady Tigers in game one, then denied Whitewright the chance to do the same in game two with a great defensive play.
Whitewright (19-9-1) played well enough to deserve a third game, but the Lady Cats ensured it didn't happen.
Whitesboro coach Preslee Gallaway said the Lady Cats leaned on what they practiced.
"I think just staying committed to ourselves and trusting our pitcher, our catcher, our throws," Gallaway said. "We do a lot of that work in practice, those scenarios, so they are prepared for those types of plays and tags and outs. I think they were prepared, and I tried to prepare them for those scenarios so, if they do happen, we can get those outs."
In game one, Whitesboro trailed 3-2 entering the bottom of the seventh inning. Abbie Robinson scored on an error to tie the game with one out. The next at-bat, Addison McBride executed a suicide squeeze, allowing Bradi Gallaway to score the winning run.
The roles were reversed in game two. The Lady Tigers entered the bottom of the seventh trailing 4-3. A walk and single put the first two runners on base. After a fly out and a pop up, Kiley Anderson stepped to the plate and laced a single into center field.
Katy Long rounded third and sprinted home, trying to score the tying run and keep Whitewright's season alive. Instead, McBride hurled the ball to the plate, and catcher Olivia Hildebrand applied a perfect tag to end the series and send the Lady Cats to the regional quarterfinals.
Gallaway said the Lady Cats played great defense.
"I'm super proud of them," Gallaway said. "They worked super hard during the week about getting outs and just going over the top about making sure their throws are perfection. Everyone's going to make mistakes. There are going to be errors, but those types of throws, that tops all the errors."
The series featured two great pitchers going head-to-head. Karley Wolf pitched all 14 innings for Whitesboro, while Madie Rohre did the same for Whitewright. In two games, Wolf allowed 2 earned runs on 10 hits. She struck out 14 hitters and walked 11. Rohre allowed 4 earned runs on nine hits. She struck out 10 and walked six.
Wolf said she had confidence in the circle because she trusted her defense.
"It wasn't my best, but I gave it my all," Wolf said. "I knew that if I wasn't going to be at my best, my defense is going to have my back at the same time. I knew they could do it. I had no doubt in my heart that they wouldn't do this."
Whitesboro will face Grandview in the regional quarterfinals. The Lady Zebras knocked off reigning state champions Emory Rains in the area round.
