McKinney North Eliminated

Midway Ends North’s Softball Season With Two Wins In Waco

WACO -- In a battle of Class 4A softball giants Saturday night, McKinney north simply ran out of weapons against Waco Midway in the final game of the Region II best-of-three championship series at Baylor University’s Getterman Stadium.

Midway edged North 2-1 in nine innings in Game 2, then won 6-3 in Game 3, advancing to the state softball tournament next Friday and Saturday in Austin.

The Lady Bulldogs (29-10-2) saw their season end after a gutsy performance in which they played most of Saturday’s two games without two starters against the state’s second-ranked team. Midway (28-6), meanwhile, welcomed the return of catcher and leading hitter Holly Gentsch, who had missed all of the playofs with an illness. Gentsch took over catching duties in the seventh inning of Game 2 and had a pair of doubles in Game 3.

Things took a dramatic downward spiral for North in the fourth inning of Game 2.

Amanda Parsonage and Haley Wagner collided in the outfield chasing a deep drive by Midway’s Mckenzie Robertson. Shortstop Kathy Shelton raced out to retrieve the ball, threw to third baseman Tayler Burnside, who relayed home to throw out Robertson. The celebration for the play didn’t last long, as Parsonage and Wagner left the game and did not return.

Both were taken away for medical attention. Parsonage returned in time to watch the third game with her left arm in a sling.

The Pantherettes overcame five errors in Game 3 to rally past North. The Lady Bulldogs took a 3-1 lead into the bottom of the fourth, but Robertson’s triple tied the game and Kermitria Ward singled her home for the evntual game-winner.

The final loss overshadowed the play of Shelton, a junior who has already committed to Baylor. Shelton went 4-for-4 with a triple and made a pair of outstanding plays in the field.

Ward pitched both games for Midway, striking out a combined 19 batters and allowing 13 hits in 16 innings. Ashliegh McLean was the losing pitcher for the Lady Bulldogs in both games.

McKinney North ran itself out of several opportunities late in Game 2. A failed hit-and-run made Lindsey Post an easy out at second in the sixth inning, and Burnside was caught in a rundown between third and home with no outs in the seventh.

But the harshest baserunning mishap came in the top of the ninth. Sarah Becker lined a single to left field to begin the inning and moved to second on Burnside’s groundout. With McLean at bat, Gentsch picked Becker off at second. McLean singled but was stranded on base.

Ward, who struck out 13 in Game 1, reached on a throwing error in the bottom of the ninth. Gentsch moved her to second on a sacrifice bunt and Sienna Miller lined a sharp single to right to bring home Ward for the winning run.

North’s 1-0 victory in McKinney on Friday night gave the Lady Bulldogs a 1-0 series lead and the momentum heading to Waco.

North, which lost its bid to return to a second straight state tournament, loses McLean, Parsonage and McLean.

Editor’s note: McKinneyNews.net thanks McKinney North’s Kevin McPherson for his numerous reports on the Lady Bulldogs’ softball team throughout this season.