Lady Eagles defeat Latexo, headed for Weimer in next round
The Milano Lady Eagles softball team kept their playoff dreams alive last weekend as the defeated the Latexo Lady Lions to move on.
They traveled to Navasota High School to take on the Latexo Lady Tigers in the Regional Quarterfinals. The Lady Eagles won the series 2-1 to keep their season alive.
Game 1 was on Thursday, and Milano defeated Latexo 5-2.
The game was scoreless for three innings, then Milano got on the scoreboard first with three runs in the fourth inning. The Lady Eagles’ big and clutch inning came from Rayelee Keen and Kylee Harris.
Milano added on to their lead in the top of the seventh inning with two more runs. Both runs were scored when Aalyiah McBrewer singled on a fly ball to center field, driving in the two runs. The Lady Tigers tried to rally back with two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning, but it would not be enough as Milano would hold strong to win.
Mallory Miller, Aalyiah McBrewer, Victoria Balderas, Rayelee Keen, Malina Gordon, and Baylee Wall each collected one hit to lead the team. Karley Hairston earned the victory on the rubber for Milano. The fireballer pitched all seven innings, allowing four hits and two runs while striking out five and walking one.
Game 2 was on Friday, and the Lady Eagles fell to Latexo in a grueling 2-1 heartbreaker. Milano took the lead first in the second inning when Rayelee Keen came home to score on a Latexo fielding error to lead 1-0. Latexo rallied back in the sixth inning with two runs to go ahead and win the game 2-1.
Game 3 was played on Saturday, and Milano defeated Latexo 12-5 to advance to the next round. The Lady Tigers took an early lead in the top of the first inning with two runs. The Lady Eagles responded with five runs of their own in the bottom of the first inning. The Milano offense came from a bases loaded hit by pitch walk by Malina Gordon, a bases clearing triple by Rayelee Keen, and Keen coming home to score on a wild pitch.
The Lady Eagles added to their lead with four runs in the third inning and a run in the fourth inning. The explosive offense came from Marissa Balderas, Laynie Rose, Mallory Miller, and Kylee Harris, all driving in runs. The Lady Tigers scored three total unanswered runs in the fifth and sixth inning, but Milano responded with two runs of their own in the sixth inning. Those big runs were scored on two consecutive RBI doubles by Rayelee Keen and Aalyiah McBrewer.
The Lady Eagles tallied 11 hits in the game. Karley Hairston led the team with three hits in three at bats. Along with a great offensive performance, Karley Hairston led Milano to victory in the pitchers circle. The hurler pitched all seven innings, allowing five runs on six hits and striking out four.
Up next for the Lady Eagles will be a matchup with the Weimar Lady Cats in the Regional Semifinals. It will be a three game series. Game 1 will be Thursday at 7 p.m., game 2 will be on Saturday at 2 p.m., and if needed, game 3 will be on Saturday 30 minutes after game 2. All games will be held at Brenham High School.