Softball playoffs: No-hitter, home runs help Melissa advance; Guyer eliminates Keller again

Randy Jennings

Denton Guyer 7, Keller 5: Annaleeia Martinez broke a 4-4 tie with a two-out, two-run triple in the top of the fifth and Denton Guyer went on to sweep Keller in the latest installment of their postseason rivalry. Notre Dame signee Finley Montgomery added an RBI single in the seventh as Guyer (34-2) won its 10th game in a row and advanced to a regional final for the fourth straight season.

This was a rematch of the 2023 and 2024 regional final series that Guyer won in three games both times. Before Thursday, Montgomery had been nearly unhittable in the last eight games, allowing seven hits and one run in 40 innings while striking out 74.

But Kansas signee Mackenna Jackson and Texas Tech signee Sydona Meiser finished with two RBIs apiece and Keller rallied from an early 4-0 deficit to tie it 4-4 through four innings. Martinez was 3 for 3 for Guyer, Chloe O’Brien doubled twice and had two RBIs and Montgomery drove in two runs in addition to pitching a complete game.

Waxahachie 3, Grand Oaks 2: Lyndi Connell hit a walk-off RBI single with the bases loaded and no outs in the bottom of the seventh as Waxahachie won Game 1 of a best-of-3 6A Division I Region II semifinal series. Waxahachie (37-1) extended its winning streak to 31 games, and freshman pitcher Maci Barnes improved to 24-0 with a complete-game five-hitter.

Jordan Young started the seventh with a double and went to third on a bunt hit by Brooklyn Parlapiano before Michaela Landers was intentionally walked to load the bases for Connell, who drove in her second run of the game. Lila Tovar gave Waxahachie a 2-1 lead with a two-out RBI single in the bottom of the sixth, but Grand Oaks tied it on a one-out RBI single by Laila Bellinger in the top of the seventh.

Flower Mound 8, Northwest Eaton 7: Julisa Balderas hit a walk-off sacrifice fly in the bottom of the seventh to give Flower Mound the Game 1 win after Eaton had tied it with three runs in the top of the seventh.

Balderas homered and drove in four runs, and Masy Mays also homered for Flower Mound (26-8-1). Taylor Colon was 3 for 3 with three RBIs for Eaton (28-10-1), and her sacrifice fly in the top of the seventh tied it 7-7.

Prosper Richland 2, Sulphur Springs 1: TJ Spain led off the bottom of the seventh with a walk, stole second and scored the winning run on a two-out error as Richland swept the 4A Division I Region II semifinal series in two games. Layla Pourciau had an RBI bunt single for Richland in the sixth that tied it 1-1, and Sam Riley pitched a two-hitter and struck out 13.

Richland (31-6), a first-year school, has won 21 in a row.

Trophy Club Byron Nelson 3, Flower Mound Marcus 2: Brooklyn Hanson led off the bottom of the sixth with a triple and scored the winning run on a double play grounder as Byron Nelson won the series opener in the 6A Division II Region I semifinal.

Marcus had runners at first and second with two outs in the top of the seventh but couldn’t score as Byron Nelson pitcher Meredith Hambric recorded her eighth strikeout of the game to end it.

Forney 6, Conroe Oak Ridge 3: Bailee McGhee doubled, tripled and drove in four runs as Forney (32-3) extended its winning streak to 19 games in Game 1 of its regional semifinal series.

With Forney clinging to a 4-3 lead, McGhee hit a two-run triple with two outs in the bottom of the sixth to extend the lead to three runs. Forney, last year’s Class 6A Division II state runner-up, saw pitcher Avery Pitts throw a four-hitter and strike out 13.

Keller Timber Creek 6, Hebron 3: Addi Inocencio pitched a three-hitter and struck out 11 and Natalie Stuhr drove in a pair of runs in Timber Creek’s Game 1 win. Timber Creek built a 6-0 lead before Hebron scored once in the bottom of the sixth and twice in the seventh.

Midlothian Heritage 2, Lovejoy 1: Trinity Chittamai and Hailey Woodall combined on a five-hitter as Midlothian Heritage won Game 1 of the best-of-3 5A Division II Region II semifinal series. Rylee Parrish had an RBI triple for Heritage (23-12) in a two-run bottom of the fourth.

Richland 1, Abilene 0: Sam Aguilar drove in the game’s only run with an RBI single in the bottom of the fifth and Stacy Jennings pitched a three-hit shutout and struck out nine in Game 1 of a best-of-3 series.

Lake Belton 5, Prosper Walnut Grove 4: Addison Sims’ bunt RBI single with one out in the top of the eighth completed a dramatic rally by Lake Belton in Game 1 of a best-of-3 Class 5A Division I Region II semifinal series.

Kailee James homered and drove in three runs to help Walnut Grove build a 4-0 lead through six innings. But after the first two hitters were retired in the top of the seventh, leaving Lake Belton one out from defeat, it scored four runs on four hits and a walk to make it 4-4.

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