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Belville sweep sees Smithville through to bi-district round
The Smithville Lady Tigers softball team secured a perfect 10-0 district championship after completing a sweep of Bellville last week.
The girls took home the title with a 3-0 win over the Brahmas April 14 and 5-3 finish three days later. The title marks the second consecutive district championship for Smithville, which finished 9-1 in district play last season before improving to an undefeated mark this year.
GAME ONE
Smithville’s Jessica Hinnant delivered a dominant performance in the circle, tossing a complete-game perfect game. She allowed no runs, no hits and no walks while striking out 13 batters.
The Lady Tigers also played a flawless defense behind her, committing no errors.
Despite the dominant pitching, Smithville had to grind for runs early. The Lady Tigers broke through in the bottom of the third inning when Brittney Collins drove in a run on an RBI single to give Smithville a 1-0 lead.
Smithville added insurance runs in the fifth inning with back-toback RBI doubles from Hinnant and Collins.
Collins led the offense, going 2-for-3 with two RBIs.
Hinnant closed out the game with a groundout followed by two strikeouts.
GAME TWO
Smithville capped its perfect district season with a hard-fought 5-3 win over Bellville in the series finale.
Addison Otto got the start in the circle, pitching three innings and allowing two runs. Hinnant came on in relief and once again dominated, giving up just one run while striking out nine batters.
The Lady Tigers struck first with an RBI single from Kenna Tiner to take a 1-0 lead. Bellville responded by taking its first lead of the series, capitalizing on an error and a base hit to go up 2-1 at the end of the third inning.
Smithville answered in the fifth after Hinnant settled things from the circle. Otto delivered a key two-run home run, and the Lady Tigers added another on a groundout to take a three-run lead.
Bellville managed to push across one run in the final inning, but Hinnant shut the door with three consecutive strikeouts to secure the victory and complete the undefeated district run.
Otto paced the offense, going 3-for-3 with two RBIs.
Smithville now advances to the postseason, where it will face La Marque in the bi-district round at 6 p.m. Thursday, April 23, at Rice High School.
Last season, the Lady Tigers dominated La Marque in the first round, winning the best-of-three series in two with a combined score of 30-0.
