Hello, Regional Finals

North Softball Team Tops Waxahachie In Decisive Game 3

COPPELL—McKinney North softball fans might want to consider changing Dan Sedgwick’s name to “The Mechanic.”

The first-year Bulldogs coach made some minor adjustments before Saturday’s decisive Game 3 against Waxahachie in the Class 4A, Region II semifinals and they seemed to get the Lady Bulldogs running on all cylinders in a 4-2 win.

North (28-8-2) advances to the region finals against Waco Midway to be played next week. Midway defeated Hallsville 10-3 Saturday in the decisive Game 3 of the teams’ series. Hallsville won the opener, 2-1, then Midway won Game 2, 5-3, to force a Game 3.

Locations, dates and times for the regional finals will be published when announced.

Sedgwick moved third baseman Tayler Burnside up two spots in the batting order and returned second baseman Lindsay Post, nursing a thumb injury, back into the field. Burnside responded by smashing the game-winning, two-run double in the fifth inning. Post, meanwhile, was part of an inning-ending double play in the top of the sixth that squelched Waxahachie’s most serious threat.

Even the little things seemed to work for Sedgwick and the Lady Bulldogs. With one out and two runners on base in the top of the seventh, the North coach sent out assistant Laura Brent to talk with starter Ashliegh McLean and the rest of the infield. McLean then forced leadoff batter Dakota Flesher into an infield pop-up and struck out Monica Jaramillo to end the game and the series.

In the first inning, however, Waxahachie (28-13) seemed to continue its momentum from Friday night’s 8-6 win at home. Sherri Polanco and Tori Banda connected on consecutive RBI hits for an early 2-0 lead. But the Lady Bulldogs fought back and scored once in the bottom of the inning.

Amy Kilpatrick reached on a fielder’s choice and Meghan Knowles drove her home with a triple over the left fielder. McLean seemed to regain her control over the next four innings. She allowed only two baserunners on an error and a hit batsman.

Meanwhile, the Lady Bulldogs managed another run in the third to tie the game. Post singled and stole second. Two outs later, Sarah Becker’s single up the middle scored Post.

North, which gave up eight runs with two outs in the fifth inning of Game 2, scored the go-ahead runs with two outs in the bottom of the fifth on Saturday. Knowles singled to right field and Becker reached on an infield single. Burnside, who had a double and two singles in the Game 3 win over Mesquite Poteet, smoked a liner over Waxahachie left fielder Kaitlyn O’Brien, and Knowles and Becker raced home.

The Lady Indians opened the sixth inning with a walk and a hit. Jocelyn Roberts advanced to third on Polanco’s bloop single, and Polanco reached second on an outfield throw to third. But Kathy Shelton looked Roberts back to third on a ground-out and Post, in her first field appearance of the playoffs, did the same on another grounder. After Post threw to first for the out, Roberts turned for home, but Knowles’ throw to catcher Amy Kilpatrick was in time for the third out.

McLean finished with four strikeouts and gave up just three hits. Post, Becker, and Haley  Wagner each had a pair of hits in the Lady Bulldogs’ nine-hit effort. Wagner also stole two bases.