Matt Wixon

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RED OAK – Before district play began, Mesquite Poteet played in games and tournaments featuring some of the top softball teams in the area. Coach Joe Huber saw a lot of teams that could battle his for a spot in the state tournament.

"But knowing what Forney had and what we had," Huber said Tuesday, "it kind of made you expect it to come down to this."

Just what he expected: Forney and Poteet, district foes and two of the most consistent softball programs in the area, battling for the Class 4A Region II title.

Poteet got the edge Wednesday night by beating Forney, 4-2, in Game 1 of the best-of-3 series at the Red Oak Athletic Complex. Poteet (34-8-1) avenged two losses earlier this season to Forney (35-7), which saw its 30-game winning streak end.

Poteet trailed 2-0 after two innings but got a run in the third and grabbed control with three runs in the fourth. Reachelle Spieker got the biggest hit of the game, waiting on a change-up from Forney pitcher Shelby Hedrick and lining it to left field to score two runs and break a 2-2 tie.

The series, which continues Friday because Forney's graduation ceremonies are tonight, matches two teams that haven't missed the playoffs since 1995. That dates back to when 4A and 5A teams played for one UIL title and only two teams from each district made it to the playoffs.

Four teams make it now, but that wasn't a concern this season for Forney and Poteet. They were the class of District 15-4A, beating the other district foes by a combined score of 264-7. It was a very top-heavy district, and the teams at the top were no surprise.

Since Forney moved up from 3A for the 2005 season, the two schools have dominated their district. They shared district titles in '05, '07 and '08, and Poteet won in '06. This year, Forney gets the title all to itself. That made the two standout programs about as even as can be until Poteet rallied to win Game 1.

With one more win, Poteet will advance to the state tournament for the second time. Poteet made it to state in 2003, but it lost in the semifinals to Crowley, the eventual state champion. Forney, which was a 3A semifinalist in 1999, will need two wins to make its first state appearance in 4A.

Forney didn't go down quietly Wednesday, putting runners on first and second with one out in the seventh. But Poteet clinched the victory with a nice defensive play by shortstop MacKenzie Middlebrook, who fielded a sharp grounder by Shelby Brogdon and threw to Spieker at second, who threw to first for the double play.

It wasn't easy, and Huber knew it wouldn't be.

"Anytime you get Forney and Poteet together, it's going to be competitive," he said. "It can be throwing rocks at a passing train, it doesn't matter. It's going to be competitive."