Burnet softball continues playoff march by sweeping Salado
CAPTION: The Burnet Lady Dawgs are beat Salado in back-to-back games to win the Class 4A regional quarterfinal best-of-three series. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Burnet High School softball team made quick work of Salado in what turned out to be the game clincher to win the Class 4A regional quarterfinal series May 12.
The Lady Dawgs crushed the Lady Eagles 8-1 in game two on the heels of outlasting them 3-2 in nine innings May 11.
Burnet will face Liberty (32-7, 10-0 District 20-4A champion) in the Class 4A Region III semifinals at Mumford High School, 9755 FM 50. Game one is at 5 p.m. Thursday, May 18, and game two is at 7:30 p.m. Friday, May 19. Game three, if necessary, is at 11 a.m. Saturday, May 20. Liberty swept Little Cypress-Mauriceville 6-2 May 12 and 4-2 May 11.
Against Salado, the Lady Dawgs scored three runs in the first inning, two in the third, and three in the fourth inning.
“I told you, that’s how we are,” head coach Hailey Wooten said, “putting runs on the board. This is what we’re used to. We put eight runs on the board.”
Maddi Moise hit a two-run homer, while Elyse De Arcos had 4 RBIs off 2 doubles, and Journey Denton hit 2 triples.
“You’re hard to beat when you have all that,” the coach said.
Wooten noted she told the other coaches she wanted to see the Lady Dawgs score eight runs in the second game but didn’t mention it to the players because she doesn’t want the youngsters to feel more pressure.
Meanwhile, sophomore pitcher Presely Crawford (6-0 in the playoffs) led the defense with eight strikeouts in seven innings.
Salado’s only run was off a solo homer in the fourth inning.
“Our defense did a good job,” Wooten said. “They stepped up. I’m glad we came out today and put it on them.”
The game two thumping was a far cry from game one in Salado.
Tied 2-2, junior Camrynn Guthrie led off with a double and moved to third on a bunt by Kyleigh Mott. Guthrie scored the game-winning run on a pass ball.
Burnet took a 1-0 lead in the first inning thanks to a sacrifice flyball by Moise to score McKenzie Davis, who hit a triple.
The two also combined for the second run. Davis reached first and stole second and third when the Lady Eagles fumbled the ball. Moise hit a RBI single to bring her home.
Crawford had 12 strikeouts in nine innings.
Wooten noted the challenge of playing 24 hours later after losing a playoff game like that.
“To go nine innings with a 3-2 score, that’s tough on you mentally,” she said.
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