Lewisvlle edges Lake View 3-1 in Game 1 of Class A softball championship series

Lake View – Lake View High School had more opportunities to bat with runners in scoring position than Lewisville did in the opening game of the Class A softball state championship series on Monday.

The Lions got the only run-scoring hit by either team in that circumstance though, a 2-out, 2-run  single by Jordyn Miller in the third inning, and that was enough for a 3-1 victory at the LVHS field.

Game 2 of the best-of-3 series is set for Wednesday at 6 p.m. at the Lewisville field. A victory by the Lions give them the state championship. Should the Wild Gators win, a deciding game will be played on Friday at a neutral site.

LVHS’ Raven Locklear had a strong performance in the circle. Locklear, who helped Lake View to the 2021 state title as a freshman, had 11 strikeouts and no walks while allowing five hits and hitting one batter. While the chances to capitalize were few and far between for LHS, they did so when given the opportunity in the third inning.

Locklear had 1-2-3 innings for the first two innings before Lewisville’s Kyleigh Fletcher led off the top of the third with a single. Kylee Waggoner put down a sacrifice bunt, and Fletcher was able to get all the way to third base. Abby Barnes, the No. 9 hitter in the order, bunted as well. Locklear picked it up, checked Fletcher and then turned to throw to first. However, Locklear wheeled back to third and caught Fletcher, throwing back to third for the second out as Fletcher tried to dive back into the bag.

Waggoner went to second on the rundown. Leadoff hitter Saleena Rollins legged out an infield single with Waggoner moving to third. Rollins stole second base before Miller stroked the ball to right field to bring home both runners to make it 2-0.

Lions head coach Jerry Thomas wasn’t surprised the opportunities were few and far between to score. He was just glad his team was able to come through.

“You get what you can,” said Thomas, whose team improved to 24-4 on the season. “We're down to the two last teams. I'm not disappointed, but, of course, I'd like to get a little bit more. You expect 3-1 games like this at this level.”

Lake View got its run in the fourth but missed out on an opportunity for more. With one out, Hanna Coburn legged out an infield single. Hollie Scott reached on an error before Chloe Cox put down a sacrifice bunt. Barnes, the Lewisville second baseman, couldn’t handle the throw and Coburn scored to make it 2-1 with Scott and Cox, reaching third and second, respectively.

Kaylynn Turner bunted to Fletcher, the LHS third baseman, who threw behind Scott and got her out trying to dive back into third for the second out. Pitcher Sarah Owens got Madison Strickland to fly out to end the inning.

Lake View, which lost for the first time in the postseason to fall to 17-7, left eight runners on base, six of them in scoring position. In the fifth with the score 3-1, a 2-out double by Locklear sent Emma King, who reached on an infield single with one out, to third. Coburn, the cleanup hitter, hit a line drive that Rollins, the shortstop, dove for and snagged to end the inning.

In the sixth, Scott led off with a double. After an out, Turner reached on an infield single. Strickland put down a bunt for the second, but moved both of the runners into scoring position. However, Owens got Zy’Kiara Watkins to ground out to second to end the inning.

“We just hit the ball right at them tonight, and they made some very good plays,” said Lake View head coach Brandy Huggins. “Very good ball team, very well-coached and they were very well prepared for us. When we did put the ball in play, we hit it right at them while it seems theirs seemed to find the gap.”

Owens allowed six hits, two walks and a hit batter while striking out only one. With the exception of the two errors in the fourth, the Lions played great defense. Miller, the catcher, threw out two runners trying to steal second with Rollins coming up with six putouts

“Defense was important tonight,” Thomas said. “Our defense made some great plays Our pitching was good and they made some great plays behind her, some good diving plays. The catcher made some good throws. Those were big rally killers.”

LHS’ other run came in the fifth. Rollins singled with one out and moved to second on a groundout. She stole third before Owens hit a weak grounder down the first base line. However, Locklear fumbled the ball and all hands were safe.

Rollins finished with two hits and scored two runs. Fletcher also had two hits, and Miller had the 2-run single.

Lake View got its six hits from six different players – King, Locklear, Coburn, Scott, Turner and Strickland.

Thomas reminded his team after the game that there was still more work to do.

“I told them it's only one game,” said Thomas, whose team beat Hannah-Pamplico in the first game of last year’s state championship series before losing the final tow. “We’ve got to go back and get ready for the next one.”

Huggins spoke of the closeness of the game with her team and its missed opportunities.

“It's a 3-1 ball game, a hit here or there and it could go either way,” Huggins said. “It's not like they 10-runned us (and win by the mercy rule) and you say, 'What are we going to do?' A hit here or there and it's a different game for either team. So it's come back to work tomorrow and get ready to go on the road on Wednesday.”