By Robert Morgan | Published Thursday, April 30, 2009
For the first time this decade, the Decatur High School softball team is not going to the playoffs. Instead, Bridgeport finished one spot ahead of the Lady Eagles for the third and final playoff spot, so it was all about pride when the two teams met in the district finale Friday night.
Decatur, which finally found its groove on offense midway through district play, went out with a bang against the Sissies. The group had a season-high 20 hits and scored seven runs in the last inning to rally for a thrilling 14-13 victory and a season sweep of the Sissies.
It appeared as if Bridgeport was going to end Decatur's season on a losing note. The game was tied at 7-7 after seven innings, so the rivals needed one extra inning to determine a winner.
The Sissies got a double from Bailey Jones and hits from Shaley Johnson, Jordyn Hulsey and T-Rae Stone to score six runs and take a 13-7 lead.
Decatur was down to its final three outs but did not panic. The hosts scored seven runs, including the game winner on an RBI single by sophomore Jordan Alker to get the win.
"We really hit the ball very well in the second half of district play, so it's nice to see the girls go out like this," said DHS coach Scott McTee. "We just started hitting the ball well one game too late or else you would probably see us in the playoffs. This team loses just one starter, so the best is yet to come for all of these girls."
Not only do the Lady Eagles lose one teammate to graduation, they also lost their coach. McTee told his girls after the game that he will not be back next season because of family reasons.
Decatur made sure his final game was one to remember as it put together a stunning finish in the eighth inning. Vickie Mayo, Ana Lomas and Alker all singled and loaded the bases in the final inning.
Freshman Leia Andriotto had a monster hit when she belted a three-run triple to center field to trim the deficit to 13-10. Jazmine Lujan did not let Andriotto stand on third long as she followed with an RBI single to center field to make it a 13-11 ball game.
The Lady Eagles managed to fill the bases again when Megan Dittrich and Mercy Staley followed with one-out singles. Karen Harris smacked a fielder's choice to score Lujan and pull DHS within one at 13-12.
Mayo came through for the second time in the inning when she planted a single in right field to score Dittrich and tie the game, which set up Alker's game-deciding hit.
The win allowed Decatur to finish the season at 4-6 in District 5-3A play and 10-12 overall, just one spot behind Bridgeport at 5-5 and 10-15. The Sissies will have a first round bye and advance to the area championship game against West next week.
Bridgeport was not fazed by Decatur's home field advantage as it scored five times in its first plate appearance. Bailey Jones, who finished with two doubles and scored three times, helped get things started with the first of her three hits. Brittany White and Johnson also helped scatter four hits in the inning to take a 5-0 lead.
The Lady Eagles answered back with three hits in the bottom half of the inning. Lujan was hit by a pitch, and Dittrich hammered a one-out double to center field to set up the big finish.
Staley laced a two-run double to left field, and Mayo followed with an RBI single to trim the deficit to 5-3. Decatur capitalized on two of Bridgeport's seven errors to score solo runs in the third and fourth innings to tie the game at 5-5.
Bridgeport came back to take a 7-5 lead in the sixth inning, but Decatur answered once again in the bottom half of the inning with two runs to even the game at 7-7.
District 5-3A standings
Team Overall Dist. Burkburnett 22-2-1 10-0 Vernon 19-9 7-3 Bridgeport 10-15 5-5 Iowa Park 11-11 4-6 Decatur 10-12 4-6 Hirschi 5-18 0-10
