Local softball schools continue to grind through season
Mar. 15—On the softball field, numerous Johnson County schools are seeing success at a high level through the tournament portion of their respective schedules.
The No. 5 Grandview Lady Zebras (10-2, 2-0) of Class 3A and the No. 12 Godley Ladycats (11-2-1) of Class 4A have gotten off to impressive starts to their respective 2024 campaigns.
The Lady Zebras, led by star sophomore pitcher Madi Doty, collected impressive wins over the likes of Mansfield, Stephenville, Duncanville and Salado during pre-district play, and most recently swept a series against Clifton by a combined score of 32-0 in two games. Grandview, who reached the state semifinals a year ago, will resume district play against Maypearl at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 26, in Maypearl.
Meanwhile, the Ladycats have been impressive in their first 14 regular season contests. Star senior shortstop Saniya Hill — a Mizzou commit — has a 0.667 batting average through this point of the year. After taking on Gatesville this past weekend, the Ladycats will begin district play at 5 p.m. Friday, March 22, at Hillsboro. Also in Class 4A are the Alvarado Lady Indians (1-4-1), who will next compete against Waxahachie Life at home at 7 p.m. Friday.
District 8-5A Region I has four local schools competing against one another in the Centennial Lady Spartans, Burleson Lady Elks, Cleburne Lady Yellow Jackets and Joshua Lady Owls. Centennial (12-4, 2-0) has gotten off to an impressive start to the season behind strong plate production from senior Bailey Lindemuth, who sports a 0.551 batting average with six homers on the year.
From the mound, sophomore Lexie Arhur leads the pitching staff with a team-low 1.50 ERA while Lindemuth has also contributed from the bump with a 2.03 ERA. The Lady Spartans' next district contest will take place at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Cleburne, who is 3-11-1 on the season.
The Lady Owls (7-5, 1-1) most recently dropped a close, 6-4 contest against district-leading Midlothian, but will try to bounce back at 7 p.m. Friday at Centennial. The Lady Owls picked up quality pre-district wins along the way over Haltom, Mansfield, Waxahachie and Prosper. Meanwhile, the Lady Elks (5-4, 0-2) will host Centennial next at 7 p.m. Tuesday, March 26.
Also in Class 3A are the Keene Lady Chargers (2-11, 0-2) recorded a pair of victories over Life Oak Cliff Hill earlier in the season, and are searching for their first district victory at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Clifton. In Class 2A, the Rio Vista Lady Eagles (5-4), who most recently took down Waxahachie Life 14-3, will open district play at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at home against Itasca.
