The late, great baseball Hall of Famer Yogi Berra was noted for saying, “It ain’t over till it’s over.” He might have added, in the case of the Pearland Lady Oilers, “That’s the reason we play all seven innings in a softball game.”
Trailing 8-5 to state-power Deer Park in the bottom of the seventh inning and no outs, Pearland junior Trinity Perry opened with a single to centerfield, senior Lydia Njus then reached base on an error to put two runners on base. Courtesy runner Kailey Monsef runs for Perry and courtesy runner Layla Bennett runs for Njus.
That set up senior Gabbie Roundtree, who was hitting for Laila Nobles, to drive a 2-2 pitch over the left field wall to plate three runs and tie up the game 8-8 as the Lady Oilers celebrated.
Clark’s decision to pinch-hit Roundtree showed a lot of trust and confidence in the senior.
“The series before when we had a couple runners on, I pinch-hit her and she got a hit that scored a couple of runs,” Clark said. “Since she’s a senior, and I told myself that if anybody really wants it, it’s a senior.
“I just kept saying chip away, chip away. You never know. I knew it was gone. There was no doubt. We just kept fighting after that. These girls just have a lot of tenacity.”
Following Roundtree’s game-tying blast, Darian DeLeon walked, Hailey Golden reached on an error and Kaylee Schweitzer beat out an infield hit.
After Deer Park pitcher Aubrey Graham retired Kennedy Drafton on a fly out with the bases loaded, Kristyn Whitlock lifted a deep enough fly to right field to score pinch runner Kelsey Martin for the walkoff win in the four-run seventh.
That propelled the No. 3 state-ranked Lady Oilers (39-3) to the Class 6A state softball tournament where they will face the No. 2 state-ranked San Benito Lady Greyhounds (40-3) in the 6A semifinals on Friday, June 3 at 4:00 p.m. at the Red and Charline McCombs Softball Field on the campus of the University of Texas in Austin.
Pearland found themselves behind for most of the game as Deer Park was seeking to make the trip to the state tournament for the third consecutive year. The Lady Deer won the state title in 2021 and came up short 8-4 to Lake Ridge last season in the state semifinals.
The Lady Oilers scored first with a run in the second, but Deer Park took a 3-1 lead thanks to a three-run homer by senior Angelina Morales in the third inning.
Pearland answered with a run in their half of the third when Raenna Liscano ripped a two-out double to left-center field to score Kennedy Drafton and make it 3-2.
The Lady Deer moved ahead, 4-2, in the fifth inning when Julia Donnell singled home Bryanna Fuentes, who led off with a single and was wild pitched to second.
Pearland refused to give in and tied the game 4-4 in the fifth on consecutive home runs from Drafton and Whitlock.
Deer Park (32-11) added four runs in the sixth and seventh innings while Pearland scored a run in the sixth to set up the 8-5 miracle comeback in the seventh frame.
Leading hitters for Pearland included Golden (2-for-4, 1 run, 2B), Kaylee Schweitzer (2-for-4), Drafton (2-for-4, 2 runs, 1 RBI, 2B, HR), Whitlock (1-for-2, 1 run, 3 RBIs, HR), Liscano (1-for-3, 1 RBI, 2B), Perry (2-for-2, 2B), Njus (1-for-2), and Roundtree (1-for-1, 1 run, 3 RBIs, HR).
Pearland goes to the 6A state softball tournament having won 18 consecutive games.
