By Robert Morgan | Published Thursday, April 30, 2009
It's been a challenging season for the Paradise High School softball team as it will miss out on the playoffs again this year. However, it got the chance to play a playoff team in the season finale Friday night and made it count.
It was hard to tell that the Lady Panthers struggled for hits in clutch situations this year because they executed to perfection against rival and playoff-bound Alvord. They scored the final run of the game and the season in the last inning to rally from a two-run deficit to beat the Lady Bulldogs 7-6 in the ninth inning.
"It was a great battle between two good teams," said PHS coach Karen Essig. "Each time one of us scored, the other team came right back to tie it up. It was a hard-fought victory, and I am so proud of our Lady Panthers."
The win ended the season for Paradise at 7-7 in District 5-3A play, while Alvord slipped to 10-4. The Lady Bulldogs advance to the Class 2A state playoffs as the second place team behind Brock and will face Aubrey at 7 p.m. Friday night at TWU in Denton.
Paradise got hits from Meg Arthur and Hannah Runnels early in the action to take a 2-0 lead. However, Alvord rallied like it did all night and scored twice in the fourth inning to tie the game at 2-2.
The lead traded sides three more times before the dramatic finish in the ninth inning. Down 6-4, Laura Wilson smacked an RBI single to make it a one-run game.
Candice McDaniel, who had the biggest hit of the night with a triple, knocked in courtesy runner Shanee Gober in the bottom of the ninth inning to tie the game at 6-6.
Arthur had her second and last hit of the game in the ninth inning for the game-winning RBI to give the Lady Panthers the victory.
