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Sports
MV sweeps Marion
By Roland Ruiz
Anvil Herald Correspondent
Schertz -- Déjà vu all over again? Not
quite, but it was eerily similar to the course the Medina Valley Lady
Panthers took a year ago.
MV opened defense of its Class 3A state
softball championship last Friday, May 2, in familiar fashion – with
the dominating pitching and timely hitting reminiscent of last year’s
run to a state championship. Even the unfortunate opponent — the
Marion Lady Bulldogs, whom the Lady Panthers eliminated from the
playoffs a year ago in the regional finals — was a familiar one.
And, like she did during MV’s run to the
title last spring, ace Crystal Keller kept hitters guessing and the Lady
Panther bats provided enough pop to fuel a two-game sweep over Marion in
the best-of-three, second round match last Friday. A year ago, MV had to
overcome a one-game deficit in its regional final series with the Lady
Bulldogs to advance to the state tournament. This time around, the going
wasn’t nearly as tough for the Lady Panthers.
“This is the series I was worried about,”
said MV head coach Wade Womack. “I was probably more nervous with this
one than I was the state championship, if you can believe that.
“I knew Marion wasn’t the same team as they had last year, but still
they’re well coached and they’re fundamentally sound,” he added.
Turns out, Womack’s worries were for naught.
In game one, played at Clemens High School, Keller shut out the Lady
Bulldogs and the Lady Panther bats punched in four runs each in the
third and sixth innings en route to a 10-0 romp. Game two of the
scheduled doubleheader was moved to Steele High School due to faulty
lighting at Clemens.
The change in venue only delayed the
inevitable. Mysia Proctor took the center circle and, like Keller,
pitched a masterful game. The junior scattered three hits over seven
innings for a 6-1 win to push MV into the next round of the playoffs.
“The first game, we hit the ball very well,”
Womack said. “The second game, we had to play defense to win.”
MV now advances to the regional quarterfinals and will play Wimberley in
another best–of-three series this week. The series begins Thursday,
May 8, and will be played entirely at North East ISD’s softball field
in San Antonio (near the intersection of Judson Road and Nacogdoches).
Tonight’s opener begins at 7 p.m., with game 2 (and game 3, if needed)
to be played Friday, May 9, beginning at 6 p.m.
Against Marion, MV was nearly perfect. Keller
surrendered just one hit and the defense played flawlessly behind her in
the field. Offensively, the Lady Panthers pounded out 10 hits and took
advantage of five Marion errors to build a 6-0 lead going into the sixth
frame. In the top half of the inning, the Lady Panthers mounted a
two-out rally sparked by a Marion fielding error that allowed Holly Rihn
to get on base. Kristy Kempf and Becca Kwapich then each drew a walk to
load the bases for Amanda Hilbig, who knocked a double off the left
field fence to clear the bases. She advanced to third on a passed ball,
and then came home on another errant pitch. Following the four-run
outburst, Keller mowed down the Marion lineup in order in the bottom
half of the inning and the Lady Panthers run-ruled the Lady Bulldogs for
the win.
In game 2, MV wasn’t nearly as perfect, but
was good enough to build a comfortable lead and coast to victory.
Leadoff hitter Sam Paniagua scored the game’s first run in the first
inning on an RBI double by Jenna Haby. After two scoreless innings,
Marion tied the game 1-1 in the top half of the fourth on a passed ball.
But then in the bottom half of the frame, the Lady Panthers broke the
game open with a three-run burst. Kempf led off the inning with a single
to shallow left, Hilbig moved her over with a sacrifice bunt, and then
Andi Schmitt brought her home with an RBI single to center. After
Paniagua popped up, Proctor got on when the right fielder dropped a fly
ball. Keller then singled Schmitt home, followed by Haby, who singled in
Proctor before Marion could get out of the inning. Paniagua and Keller
would each score in the sixth to add two more insurance runs, while
Proctor held the Lady Bulldog bats in check.
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