Bowie, Rouse secure high school softball playoff spots as bi-district matchups approach

LAKEWAY — Cadie Hays slammed a grand slam and Anya German launched a first-inning, two-run home run as Bowie beat Lake Travis 7-6 on Monday night to secure the No. 2 seed in District 26-6A, setting up a bi-district matchup with Stony Point this week.

Hays started in the circle for Bowie, which by coin flip was designated as the home team despite the game being played at Lake Travis. Hays pitched three innings, hitting her grand slam in the bottom of the third to give Bowie a 6-4 lead. She gave way to Kate Bookidis, who struck out eight Cavaliers over four innings. The Dawgs held off a late Lake Travis rally as the Cavaliers scored two runs in the top of the seventh to cut the lead to 7-6 and had the tying run on base when the game ended.

Lake Travis will face Vista Ridge in the first round of the playoffs.

Both teams hit the ball well; Bowie had 13 hits and Lake Travis had 12. Valeria Feeney and Abriana Coy had three hits each for Bowie while Josie Busceme added two hits and scored twice. Bookidis earned the win.

Around the Austin area

Rouse makes the playoffs: Rouse capped an amazing season turnaround by beating Glenn 3-0 as Delaney Vannoy drove in two runs and scored as well, all in the first inning. Blakely Barber pitched a complete game shutout, allowing three hits and fanning eight. Rouse started the season 6-12 and struggled with injuries early, then lost to Hays and Glenn in the final three games of the regular season to fall into a three-way tie with Leander and Glenn for the final two playoff spots. Leander beat Glenn 10-0 and Rouse 4-3 on Saturday to secure third place.

Johnson City wins district: Johnson City exploded for five runs in the third inning to beat Goldthwaite in a playoff for first place in District 28-2A. Madison Marshall had four hits and drove in a pair of runs while Hannah Roy and Bo Crownover added two hits each for the Eagles.

Hyde Park wins tune-up: In a playoff warmup game, Hyde Park beat Eastside Early College 13-0 as senior Taylor Haywood earned her 50th pitching win over the past two seasons. She was taken out for the final two innings after recording her 500th career strikeout; Haywood is five strikeouts away from breaking the school record of 259 strikeouts in a season. The Panthers (32-5) have a first-round bye in the TAPPS playoffs.

This week's bi-district playoff schedule

Wednesday

Class 5A — Eastside Early College at Georgetown, 7 p.m. (one game)

Thursday

Class 6A — (1) Round Rock at Dripping Springs, 7 p.m. (best-of-three); (1) Johnson at Cedar Ridge, 7 p.m. (best-of-three); (1) Stony Point vs. Bowie, 7 p.m. at Noack (best-of-three)

Class 5A — McCallum at Elgin, 7 p.m. (one game); Crockett vs. East View, 7 p.m. at Manor (one game); (1) Liberty Hill vs. Seguin, 6 p.m. at San Marcos (best-of-three); (1) Smithson Valley at Rouse, 7 p.m. (best-of-three); (1) San Antonio Davenport at Navarro, 6 p.m. (best-of-three)

Class 4A — Smithville vs. Houston Washington, 5:30 p.m. (one game);

Friday

Class 6A — (2) Dripping Springs at Round Rock, 5 p.m. (best-of-three); (2) Cedar Ridge at Johnson, 7 p.m. (best-of-three); (2) Stony Point vs. Bowie, 7 p.m. at Noack (best-of-three); (3) Dripping Springs at Round Rock, 7:30 (if needed);

Class 5A — Bastrop vs. LASA, 6 p.m. at Noack (one game); (2) Liberty Hill vs Seguin, 6 p.m. at San Marcos (best-of-three); (2) Navarro at San Antonio Davenport, 6 p.m. (best-of-three)

Saturday

Class 6A — (3) Johnson vs. Cedar Ridge, 10 a.m. (if needed, site TBA); (3) Stony Point vs. Bowie, noon at Noack (if needed); San Antonio Davenport at Navarro, noon (if needed)

Class 5A — (3) San Antonio Davenport at Navarro, noon (if needed); (3) Rouse at Smithson Valley, noon (if needed); Liberty Hill vs. Seguin, noon at San Marcos (if needed)

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Bowie and Rouse won tiebreak games as the softball playoffs approach