Walkoff secures Cougars’ bi-district sweep
Crosby pitcher Grace Sparks and La Porte pitcher Madison Guidry were the stars of their tightly contested playoff showdown.
Sparks’ supporting cast was just a little bit better.
The Cougars took advantage of two sixth-inning errors by La Porte to tie Game 2, and then swept the bi-district series on Hannah Wiggins’ RBI double in the eighth inning of their walkoff 2-1 victory Saturday at Crosby.
“They’ve got a great pitcher in Guidry, and she kept us off balance,” said Crosby coach Troy Fox, whose team took the first game 2-0 on Friday at La Porte.
“She had her strikeouts (Friday) and Grace had hers, and it was the same thing (Saturday). So it was just timely hits, putting the ball in play and making the other team field it, and hoping they make mistakes, and we capitalize.”
Crosby (28-5) moves on to face Angleton in the Class 5A Region III area playoffs.
La Porte exited with a 26-8 record after falling to the Cougars in the first round for the second consecutive year.
Sparks, an Ole Miss commit, and Guidry combined for 32 strikeouts in Game 1.
They came back with 30 more Saturday — 15 apiece — after a storm delayed Game 2’s start by 45 minutes.
The Bulldogs only were able to scratch one run across in the second inning, when the Cougars committed their only error and Sparks issued three walks including one to Guidry with the bases loaded.
Sparks finished with six walks — three drawn by Guidry.
“Both pitchers had great movement,” La Porte coach Bryant Upshaw said. “Sparks had a filthy drop ball that we couldn’t stay off, and she could move it — she’s up, she’s down, she’s in and she’s out. She’s just consistent around the plate.”
Guidry worked out of jams in the third and fifth innings.
She almost did it again in the sixth after hitting the first batter and walking the second, bouncing back with two strikeouts. Then her defense committed consecutive errors behind her, and the second allowed Madison Garcia to tie it.
“We’ve got some pretty quick girls, so any little hesitation and we’re pretty confident we’ll be safe,” Fox said.
“It was a great team win — from the girls in the dugout to the fans in the stands.”
After a scoreless seventh, Sparks fanned the side in the eighth to give her offense a chance to end the series without a third game.
Wiggins, a senior third baseman, took advantage.
Jordee Wilkins opened the inning with a single and stole second before Wiggins deposited her series-clinching double in center, sending her teammates running onto the field in jubilation.
“We made too many mistakes,” Upshaw said. “That cost us the game. We got the one run, so if we’re clean — like we talked about — we win 1-0.”
Guidry surrendered four hits, with two walks and two hit batters on 125 pitches.
“She handled all their hitters,” Upshaw said. “They had one hit that went to the outfield. The rest was us making (errors) on the infield.”
Sparks also allowed four hits on 136 pitches.
No batter managed more than one hit in Game 2.
“That’s how you win games — good pitching, good defense and you don’t make mistakes,” Upshaw said.