The area’s softball teams dominated the field this past week as Hutto, Thrall and Granger each picked up convincing victories in district play, highlighted by explosive offenses and strong individual performances.
Taylor was on a bye.
Hutto
The Hutto Lady Hippos rolled to a dominant 19-3 victory over Round Rock Westwood, making quick work of the Warriors in just three innings.
Sophomore utility player Kaelyn Price led the offensive onslaught, going 2-for-2 at the plate with seven RBIs, including a bases-clearing triple and a grand slam.
Sophomore pitcher Bailey Kelley earned the win in the circle, pitching three innings while allowing three runs on three hits and striking out three batters.
Hutto opened the scoring in the first inning with two runs, both coming on groundouts to take an early lead.
Westwood answered in the top of the second inning, scoring its only three runs of the game on an error, a groundout and a walk to briefly cut into the deficit.
The Lady Hippos responded with a massive bottom half of the inning. Hutto scored three consecutive runs on walks before Price delivered a bases-clearing triple to extend the lead to 8-3.
The offensive surge continued as the Lady Hippos added five more runs in the inning. Senior Kenna Spence drove in a run with an RBI single, another run scored on an error and Price added an RBI triple to cap off the rally.
Hutto put the game out of reach in the third inning. The Lady Hippos added two runs on walks before Price blasted a grand slam to seal the 19-3 victory.
With the win, Hutto improved to 3-1 in district play. The Lady Hippos faced Manor on Tuesday and will return to action Friday, March 13 at 7 p.m. at home against Cedar Ridge.
Thrall
The Thrall Tigerettes closed out their series against Little River Academy with a 13-5 victory on Friday, March 6.
Freshman Reese Madsen continued her standout season, going 2-for-3 with four RBIs, including a home run.
Senior pitcher Miley Pokorny earned the win in the circle, allowing five runs on 10 hits while striking out 11 batters.
Thrall opened the scoring in the first inning when Madsen drove in a run with a sacrifice fly to give the Tigerettes a 1-0 lead.
The Tigerettes then broke the game open with a six-run second inning. Freshman AJ Masters started the rally with an RBI double to make it 2-0. Thrall followed with three straight singles that brought in four more runs before another run scored on an error to extend the lead to 7-0.
Little River Academy attempted to rally in the third inning, scoring four runs on a single, an error and an RBI double to cut the deficit to 7-4.
Madsen responded in the bottom of the fourth inning with a solo home run. Pokorny added to the lead in the fifth with a two-run shot to push the advantage to 10-4.
Thrall closed out the game with three more runs, highlighted by a home run from junior Kenzie Engelke along with a single and an error that helped seal the victory.
The Tigerettes improved to 2-0 in district play. Thrall faced Franklin on Tuesday and will conclude the series against Franklin on Friday, March 13 at 6 p.m. at Franklin High School.
Granger
The Granger Lady Lions survived a highscoring contest in their district opener, defeating Rosebud-Lott 22-12 on Tuesday, March 6.
Kinsey Vitek led the offensive effort, going 3-for-4 at the plate with five RBIs.
Granger jumped out to an early lead, scoring 10 runs across the first two innings. The Lady Lions maintained their offensive momentum by adding three straight four-run innings to keep Rosebud-Lott at bay.
Sophomores Rylinn Hamby and Skyla Thorsen split time in the circle for Granger, combining to allow 12 runs on eight hits.
Hamby and senior Abi Couch each contributed three RBIs to help power the Lady Lions’ offense.
With the win, Granger improved to 3-4 overall. The Lady Lions will face Bartlett on Wednesday, March 11 at 6 p.m. at Bartlett High School.
