Mexico High School’s Paytience Lawson-Holman, a future Southeast Missouri State University Redhawk, struck out 14 Trenton batters and hit a solo home run in the third inning, leading the Lady Bulldogs to the Centralia Softball Tournament championship, in a 6-3 win over the top-seeds from Trenton High School on Saturday night, in action broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7
Mexico’s offense capitalized on a break early, with Reghan Smith reaching third base on a dropped fly ball, and Logan Blevins cracking a single four batters later to give MHS the 1-0, first inning lead. Mexico’s potent bats really came alive for the next two innings, with catcher Abby Oetting drilling a lead-off homer in the second, and Lawson-Holman doing the same in the third, making the score 3-0. With two on later in the inning, Oetting homered for the second consecutive at-bat, pushing the lead to 6-0.
With Trenton’s offense held to just a bunt single by Mykah Hurley and a one-out walk to Maci Moore in a scoreless fourth, the THS girls came alive in the sixth inning, with a bases-loaded two-out laser to left center by Taylor Richman scoring Chandler Lynch, Ainsley Tolson, and Hurley, cutting the lead to 6-3.
In the Trenton seventh, with THS trailing 6-3, the #1 seed loaded the bases on a single by Chandler Lynch, and two infield hits (by Tolson and Moore), but a pop-out to short ended the contest, dropping Trenton’s record to 19-2.
Tolson went the first five innings for Trenton, and settled down after a rough start with back-to-back scoreless innings (in the 4th and 5th). McKayla Blackburn fired two scoreless innings to help keep the Lady Bulldogs in the game, allowing just a lead-off single to Mexico’s Hayley Mills in the seventh inning.
The winner pitcher, Lawson-Holman, a verbal commit for Southeast Missouri State University in Cape Girardeau, struck out 14 Trenton batters in earning the victory. Mexico will travel to Hannibal to play the Lady Pirates in NCMC action on Monday night, with Trenton looking for victory #20, hosting Marceline in the Lady Bulldogs “Senior Night”, Monday night at 5:30 from Mark Griffin Field.
In semifinal action from Centralia on Saturday afternoon, heard on KTTN FM 92.3, Trenton run-ruled Macon, winning 10-0 in six innings, with Tolson throwing a three-hit shutout against the Tigerettes. Maci Moore had a two-run homer in the third inning, with Taylor Richman scoring on a fielding error, and Sidney Lynch scoring on a double by Lexi Whitaker. Tolson ended the game in the bottom of the sixth inning, with a two-run single scoring Whitaker and Chandler Lynch.
In Saturday morning’s quarterfinal against Hallsville, Trenton, starting junior McKayla Blackburn, started slowly in damp, cold, and windy conditions, with Blackburn allowing a run in the top of the 1st inning. However, bases-loaded force at home was followed by ground-out to Maci Moore, keeping the score 1-0. In the bottom half of the inning, Trenton left little doubt as to the game’s outcome, scoring 11 runs on eight hits, and rolling to an 18-3 over the over-matched Lady Indians, the Lady Bulldogs 18th win of the season, broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3.
