Decatur knocks out Wichita Falls, advances to area

BIG WIN — The Decatur Lady Eagles (24-7-1) earned a 4A bi-district trophy with an 8-2 win over Wichita Falls. The Lady Eagles will battle Sweetwater in a best-of-three area series Thursday and Friday at Iowa Park High School. SUBMITTED

Behind a well-rounded performance Friday, the Decatur Lady Eagles punched their ticket to the second round of the 4A playoffs. 

Decatur (24-7-1) claimed a bi-district title with an 8-2 win over Wichita Falls at Sunrise Optimist Park in Wichita Falls. 

“It’s always exciting to win in the playoffs,” Decatur coach Bryan Chaney said. “In the first round, it’s hard to tell what you’re going to get. Wichita Falls was a pretty decent team — they finished third in a really good district. Their pitcher didn’t throw super hard, but she had us a little off-balance at the beginning of the game. But we ended up putting more hits together together, and were more steady and consistent as the game went on.” 

The Lady Eagles will move on to face Sweetwater in a best-of-three area series at Iowa Park High School. Game 1 is slated for 6 p.m. Thursday, followed by Game 2 5 p.m. Friday. Game 3 will begin 30 minutes afterward, if necessary. 

Sweetwater (15-8) claimed the District 5-4A title with a 9-1 record. The Lady Mustangs extended their winning streak to 11 games by sweeping their bi-district series against Stephenville last week, 13-2 and 11-1. 

“Sweetwater is very solid, very well-drilled and very fundamentally sound,” Chaney said. “Their coach played at [the University of] North Texas, and she’s got them going pretty good. I saw them last year, and they were scrappy. But now, it looks like they’re more sound and confident. We’ll definitely have our hands full. We need to be more disciplined and able to make adjustments in the middle of the game.” 

Ryanne Murphree hit three singles in four plate appearances and drove in one run to lead the Lady Eagles’ lineup. 

“Ryanne has been doing a really good job ever since district started,” Chaney said. “She was our two-hole hitter early in the season, but then we moved her to the lead-off spot. Since she’s been there, she’s been able to get a lot of base hits, and her on-base percentage is pretty high. With the bats that are behind her in the lineup, it’s a pretty good chance we can get her home when she gets on base.”  

The bottom of Decatur’s lineup — Kenna Chaney, Madi Moreland, Macy Helton, Alexa Placek and Madi Davis — combined for six hits, including two doubles and a home run. 

“It was really good to see how successful those girls were at the bottom,” Chaney said. “If we can continue to get that level of production out of them, that will be huge as we keep going on.”

Decatur pitcher Macey Jones baffled the Lady Coyotes’ lineup. She allowed two runs on three hits and finished with 13 strikeouts in seven innings.

“Macey moves the ball a lot, and it makes it very difficult for hitters to connect,” Chaney said. “I’m glad I don’t have to hit off of her. She’s probably in the low 60s, but it’s so hard to hit the way she spins it. She’s always a solid arm for us.”