AUSTIN – Plano East senior pitcher Taylor Jones allowed only two hits against nationally ranked Spring Branch Smithson Valley in Friday's Class 5A state semifinal. But the second hit gave Smithson Valley a 1-0 win in 10 innings.
A bloop single to left by Kayla Booker with no outs in the bottom of the 10th scored pinch runner Brennan Bowman from second base before a crowd of 1,066 at McCombs Field. Smithson Valley (29-5) had put runners at first and second on a hit batter and an error.
Smithson Valley's win sets up a matchup of nationally ranked teams in today's 8 p.m. championship game. Smithson Valley just moved up to No. 8 in the latest ESPN RISE national rankings, and Pearland (37-6-1) – which beat Cedar Park Vista Ridge, 3-0, in the other semifinal – is No. 22.
Plano East (23-16-1) was trying to become the second UIL softball team to win a state title after being the No. 4 seed from its district. Alvin accomplished the feat in 5A last year.
Jones had a no-hitter through the regulation seven innings, allowing one base runner, which came on a two-out error in the third. Jones retired the next 13 in a row after that.
Smithson Valley had a great chance to win the game in the bottom of the eighth, as an error and hit by Booker put runners at second and third with no outs. But Jones struck out the next three hitters to keep the score 0-0.
Bailey Watts (26-2), a Houston signee, pitched a three-hit shutout and struck out seven for Smithson Valley.
Poteet sophomore is busy: Mesquite Poteet's Kate Foster finished second in the 4A girls discus at Friday's state track meet with a throw of 141 feet, 5 inches. The sophomore then went 2-for-2 with a walk in the Poteet softball team's 1-0 semifinal loss to New Braunfels Canyon, the state's top-ranked 4A team. Foster was stranded at third in the top of the seventh as Canyon turned a double play to end the game.
The discus competition started at noon, and Foster was done with the medals presentation around 1:20 p.m. She made it to McCombs Field in plenty of time for a game that started a little after 2.
"It wasn't anything unusual," Foster said. "I've been doing this my whole life. I felt a little bit more rushed than usual because it was a really big game."
Canyon (37-3) scored on a two-out RBI double by Stephanie Peace in the bottom of the sixth.
Azle falls short: Azle senior pitcher Sarah Mendez struck out 17 – five short of the 4A state tournament record set in last year's 15-inning state title game by Aledo's Whitney Canion. Although Mendez allowed only two hits, Azle lost, 1-0, to Angleton in nine innings in a 4A state semifinal.
Angleton's Gabby Banda led off the bottom of the ninth and reached second on an error when a popup dropped after two infielders collided. Banda was sacrificed to third, and with one out she scored on a close play at home on a squeeze bunt by Madisyn Ward.
Nice to know dad's safe: When Celina's Joey Cronin made it to the state tournament as a freshman in 2006, it was hard for her to relax. Cronin knew that her father, Tom, was about to leave for a military tour of duty in Iraq.
Tom was training at Fort Hood at the time, but he was able to get to Austin to see Celina's state semifinal. Tom served one year in Iraq as part of the Army's military transition team, but he made it back safely and was at Friday's game to cheer on his daughter in Celina's 4-1 win over Longview Spring Hill in a 3A state semifinal.
"It's definitely more relaxing [now]," said Joey, a senior shortstop.
