Liberty Hill powers into Class 5A regional finals as Austin area's lone softball team left
Wild weather, including strong winds and rain delays, as well as strong opponents ended the postseason for five Austin-area softball teams, but not for Liberty Hill, which powered through to the Region IV-5A finals by winning two of three games over Corpus Christi Veteran's Memorial. The Panthers will play Harlingen South, which edged Leander in three games, for a berth in next week's state tournament.
Lake Travis fell to Weslaco in three games and Hyde Park fell in the TAPPS state semifinals.
Liberty Hill advances in three: Rylee Slimp had three hits, including a home run, and three RBIs while Bella Nicholson drove in four runs in Liberty Hill's 11-6 win in Game 1. Game 2, though, was a one-sided matchup the other way as Veteran's Memorial pounded out an 8-1 win to even the series. In the deciding third game, Aubri Ettinger struck out 10 and scattered four hits in the Panthers' 4-1 win.
"These girls play with a lot of grit and a ton of fight every game," Liberty Hill coach Kristen Brewer said. "Our hitters stepped up to the plate with confidence every at-bat, and Aubri was a stud in the circle for us Game 3."
Lake Travis edged: Lake Travis fell behind 1-0 in its best-of-three series with Weslaco by falling 7-6 in Game 1, but they evened the series by winning the second game 5-4. Weslaco prevailed 13-2 in Game 3 to advance.
Leander eliminated: The Lions beat Harlingen South 3-2 in their best-of-three series but then dropped 10-7 and 3-2 games and were eliminated. The Lions, powered by a freshman and a sophomore pitcher, won 35 games this season.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Liberty Hill stays alive in high school softball regional semfinals
