RUSK — The fourth-ranked Groveton Lady Indians made a regional championship look easy with 2 wins over Union Grove over the weekend during the 2A Division 1 softball playoffs.
Thursday’s win was an 8-1 drubbing of the Lady Lions, marked by solid hitting that started off with a solo homer by Madisen Howard in the first inning. Howard went on to go 4-for-5 at the plate while racking up 2 RBIs.
With the sole exception of the fourth, which saw the only run from Union Grove, the Lady Indians scored a run in each inning until the 7th, when Groveton plated 3.
Adding to Groveton’s offense were Lainee Reed and Maryssa Rivers, who both went 2-for-4, and Reaghan Benton, Abi Kayte Roberts, Kambrie Crawford and Kayleigh Albus all had hits on the day.
Roberts got the win at the mound, pitching the full 7 innings and striking out 6 while giving up only 1 hit, 1 run, and 1 walk.
Game 2 on Friday was more of the same as Groveton beat Union Grove 12-2 in a game shortened to 5 innings by the run rule.
The Lady Indians opened the game with 7 runs in the bottom of the first, powered by a double from Crawford, a sacrifice fly from Albus, and singles from Lauren Moore, Howard and Lainee Reed.
Groveton added 3 more runs in the third and runs in the 4th and 5th innings to move on to the next phase and increase their win streak to 12 games.
Now in the Final Four, Groveton will play Ganado in the best-of-3 state semifinals beginning Wednesday at Cy-Fair High School. The game starts at 6 p.m.
