Softball playoffs: Melissa wins in a rout; Waxahachie extends winning streak to 29 games

— Brad Harris

Waxahachie 4, Royse City 1: Freshman Maci Barnes pitched a two-hitter, struck out 11 and homered as Waxahachie won Game 1 of a best-of-3 series and extended its winning streak to 29 games. Barnes is 22-0 this season.

Waxahachie sophomore Michaela Landers didn’t hit a home run or drive in any runs, but she was 2 for 3 and scored two runs. Landers has broken the state record for most RBIs in a season with 101, and she has tied the Dallas-area single-season home run record with 24.

Lyndi Connell went 3 for 4 with a run and an RBI, and Waxahachie (35-1) also got an RBI from NaLee Nichols.

Hebron 3, South Grand Prairie 0: Kate Buesing pitched a two-hit shutout and struck out six as Hebron won Game 1 of a best-of-3 6A Division I area-round playoff series. Hebron (25-10), the third-place team from District 5-6A, won for the ninth time in 11 games.

Hebron opened the scoring with two runs in the top of the first as Lilly Pirrello led off the game with a home run and Liz Cardona added a one-out RBI double. It stayed that way until the sixth, when Cardona singled and later scored to make it 3-0.

Denton Guyer 16, Richardson Pearce 0: Guyer scored 16 runs on only five hits to win Game 1 of a best-of-3 series in 6A Division II. Guyer (31-2) took advantage of 15 walks.

Notre Dame signee Finley Montgomery allowed two hits and struck out 11 in the four-inning game as Guyer extended its winning streak to seven games with its sixth consecutive shutout. OG Green homered for Guyer, Madison Joyner scored three runs and had two RBIs and Cali Parham and Chloe O’Brien each scored three runs and had an RBI.

Flower Mound Marcus 5, Arlington 0: Bella Valdez pitched a two-hit shutout to lead Flower Mound Marcus to the Game 1 win in 6A Division II.

Marcus (22-12), the fourth-place team from District 5-6A, is one win away from the third round of the playoffs after reaching the 6A Division II Region I final last year. Ella McNiel went 3 for 4 with a run and an RBI for Marcus, and Brooke Wikse was 2 for 2 with an RBI.

Richland 2, Burleson Centennial 0: Kennedy Parry hit a walk-off two-run home run with two outs in the bottom of the 12th to give Richland the Game 1 win. That followed a double by Alyssa Flores that kept the inning alive.

Brooke Mayner no-hit Richland for 9 1/3 innings before Parry singled with one out in the 10th. Mayner struck out 15 while Richland pitcher Stacy Jennings worked around seven hits and struck out nine in a complete game.

Prosper Walnut Grove 4, Frisco Wakeland 3: Walnut Grove scored two runs in the bottom of the seventh to force extra innings, then scored the winning run on a wild pitch in the eighth to win Game 1 of a best-of-3 series in 5A Division I.

Prosper Richland 17, Kennedale 0: Isabelle Lewis pitched a one-hit shutout, struck out nine, homered and was 3 for 4 with three RBIs in Prosper Richland’s Game 1 win. Justyce Malone added two hits, two runs and four RBIs for Richland, and Alani De Leon was 2 for 3 with three runs and two RBIs.

Joshua 3, Argyle 1: Evelyn Tate hit a tiebreaking RBI single to score Leilanie Sam in a two-run top of the ninth and Joshua won an extra-inning thriller in Game 1.