Pearland went to Austin to face the Waco Midway Pantherettes who were the defending 6A state champions and came back home with the 2026 state crown.
The Lady Oilers took the field with confidence to play their brand of softball and came away with a 6-3 win for their fourth state championship in Pearland softball history (1996, 2010, 2023, 2026).
Setting the tone of the game was senior pitcher Madelyn Guzman (28-3) who displayed a calm demeanor from the first pitch to the last in a masterful performance which earned her Most Valuable Player honors.
Guzman allowed only seven hits, three runs, while fanning nine batters to get the win.
The game was tied 0-0 through the first two frames and then the Lady Oilers broke the game open in the top of the third with four runs.
Mya Meza opened the inning with a walk, Anison Lopez laid down a bunt that was botched by Midway putting runners on first and second.
After Layla Bennett flew out to centerfield, Payton Shugart bounced a single past the third baseman to load the bases.
The Lady Oilers scored their first run of the game courtesy of Payton Powell getting hit by a pitch sending pinch runner Kendall Hartnett across the plate for a 1-0 lead.
Elaina Njus delivered a hard grounder to the second baseman who muffed the ball sending Lopez across home for a 2-0 lead.
Olivia Matejka worked the pitcher for a walk sending pinch runner Zoie Oregbesan across the pay station for a 3-0 advantage.
Left fielder Dre Smith lofted a ball to centerfield for the second out but Powell tagged up to score for the 4-0 lead before Midway finally got the third out.
Pearland scored a run in the fifth frame when Matejka started things off with a single to centerfield.
Smith sacrificed pinch runner Abigail Brooks to second for the first out.
Haylisa Sanchez popped out to right field for the second out setting up Meza who stroked a line drive single to centerfield sending Brooks home for a 5-0 lead.
The final run for the Lady Oilers came in the sixth inning when Powell scored on an RBI single by Matejka for a 6-0 lead.
Up to this point through five and a half innings, Guzman, who walked the first Midway batter in the bottom of the first inning, retired the next 12 of 13 hitters through five innings.
Midway got a harmless double in the bottom of the third but the runner was stranded on base as the Lady Oilers retired the side.
Midway finally got one run in the sixth and two more runs in their final at bats in the seventh but Guzman wasn’t going to be intimidated as she calmly retired the side to give Pearland the 6-3 win for the state crown.
Midway threatened in the bottom of the seventh with two runs as the Midway pitcher Peyton Phillip opened the inning with single off the wall in left. Amaya Locke followed with another hard-hit single. After Guzman got a strikeout, she loaded the bases with a walk.
Kallei Alverado poked a soft liner down the right field line for a single to score two runs and put runners on second and third.
“I told (Guzman) at some point she was going to be tested,” Pearland head coach Michele Hyden said. “That didn’t come until the seventh, but she rose to the occasion. She was fantastic.”
Guzman got the second out on a comebacker from Rylie Little. Guzman caught the liner but then dropped the ball while looking to throw and double a runner off third. The out stood, and that brought up Kasten, who already had one hit.
With the count full, Guzman had one last pitch. It was a strike and the championship was Pearland’s.
Pearland scored six runs on 12 hits led by Lopez (3-for-5, 1 run), Bennett (2-for-5), Shugart (2-for-4), Powell (1-for-2, 2 runs, 1 RBI), Njus (1-for-4, 1 RBI), Matejka (2-for-3, 2 RBI), and Meza (1-for-3, 1 RBI).
While the players win on the field, the Pearland coaching staff are the ones behind the success of the Pearland softball machine.
Led by head coach Michele Hyden, who has been a part of the Pearland program for 27 years. For 25 years Hyden served as the assistant head coach to Hall of Fame coach Laneigh Clark.
Elevated as the head coach for the past three years, Hyden has quickly established her own mark on the Lady Oilers with three district titles, one regional championship, and now her first state championship in such a short time.
“I’m just so happy for these seniors,” Hyden said.
Hyden has a combined three-year record of 99-21 overall mark and 43-1 in district with three district titles.
But don’t forget the other coaches who compliment the program that includes varsity assistant Lori Romero, Haley Jordan, Kaitlin Owens, and Adrianna Chavarria.
“It just builds on what we try to do every year,” said Hyden, who has been at the school for three decades and head coach the last three seasons. “You’re not going to win it every year, but our kids see it and want to be a part of it.”
