FRUITVALE — The No. 8-ranked Como-Pickton Lady Eagles completed a series comeback in their Class 2A/D2 Area Playoff series against the Overton Lady Mustangs at Fruitvale High School, winning Game 3 5-0. In a game that started a pitcher’s duel, the Lady Eagles’ offense broke through in the fifth inning, propelling Como-Pickton to a shutout victory.
The Lady Eagles stepped up to the plate first. The game began with Ayla Oud lining out.
After Presley Hunt reached base on an error, Graci Adair grounded into a double play, where Hunt was tagged out at second base, ending Como-Pickton’s turn.
The Lady Mustangs came to the plate next, facing Lexie Rainey in the circle. Overton began their turn with a single. The next batter grounded into a fielder’s choice, leading to an out at second base.
Following a strikeout, a walk gave the Lady Mustangs another runner. A fly out followed, ending the first inning.
The Lady Eagles went down in order to start the second inning: Rainey lined out, Hannah Ireland hit a fly ball for an out and Saylor Smith struck out. The Lady Mustangs were likewise retired in order during the bottom of the second inning, following a pair of strikeouts and a ground out.
The third inning opened with Paisley Watkins hitting a fly ball for an out and Cameron Kettwich lining out. After Sarah Corley hit a single, the Lady Eagles’ turn ended when Oud grounded out.
The Lady Mustangs once again went down in order during the bottom of the third inning, following a pair of fly outs and a ground out.
The fourth inning opened with Hunt drawing a walk. On the next at-bat, however, Adair lined out into a double play. The third out followed when Rainey grounded out.
The Lady Mustangs were once again retired in order during the bottom of the fourth inning following a line out, a fly out and a ground out.
The fifth inning kicked off with Ireland striking out. Smith and Watkins then hit singles.
On the next at-bat, Kettwich grounded into a fielder’s choice, where Watkins was tagged out at second base, but Smith also scored, giving the Lady Eagles a 1-0 lead. Corley then brought Kettwich home on an RBI single, extending Como-Pickton’s lead to 2-0.
Oud hit an RBI single on the next at-bat, bringing Corley home and raising the score to 3-0. The Lady Eagles’ turn ended after Hunt grounded out.
The Lady Mustangs once again went down in order during the bottom of the fifth inning, after Rainey struck out all three batters she faced.
The sixth inning opened with Adair striking out. This was followed by consecutive singles by Rainey and Madison Childress.
Smith then grounded into a fielder’s choice, where Aubrey Martinez (courtesy running for Rainey) was tagged out at third base. Watkins then hit a double, and both Ireland (courtesy running for Childress) and Smith scored on an error, raising the score to 5-0.
The Lady Eagles’ turn ended after Kettwich hit a fly ball for an out.
The Lady Mustangs went down in order yet again in the bottom of the sixth inning, following a pair of ground outs and a fly out.
The seventh inning started with Corley and Oud hitting fly balls for outs. After Hunt walked, Adair lined out, ending Como-Pickton’s turn.
The Lady Mustangs went down in order once again during the bottom of the seventh inning, following a pair of fly outs and a strikeout. With that, the Lady Eagles capped off a 5-0 victory and won the series.
As a team, the Lady Eagles batted eight for 28 (.286) from the plate. Corley and Watkins led with two hits each, while Childress, Oud, Rainey and Smith added one hit each.
Smith took top scoring honors with two runs, while Corley, Ireland and Kettwich added one run each.
Rainey pitched a complete game shutout in the circle, striking out seven batters and allowing just one hit and one walk.
With the win, the Lady Eagles won the series and improved to 31-7 overall. They also advanced to the Regional Semifinals for the first time since 2023.
The Lady Eagles will take on the West Sabine Lady Tigers in the Regional Semifinals, in a best-ofthree series at Tatum High School.
Game 1 will be Thursday, May 7, at 7 p.m. Game 2 will be Friday, May 8, at 7 p.m. Game 3, if needed, will be Saturday, May 9, at 5 p.m.