LIVINGSTON – An amazing season for the Bridge City Lady Cardinals came to an abrupt end at the hands of the Caldwell Lady Hornets in their best-of-three Class 4A Region III area round series at Livingston’s Texas Slam Academy Saturday.
After defeating the District 24-4A champion Lady Cardinals (29-4) in a 3-2 nailbiter in Game One Friday night, the Lady Hornets (29-6), District 21-4A runnerups, cruised to a clinching 9-0 victory Saturday as Caldwell will move on to the Region III quarterfinals.
The Lady Hornets finished with just six hits but all of them were timely.
Caldwell pitcher Casey Kauder went the distance, allow just three Lady Cardinal hits while striking out six and walking four.
Kassidy Wilbur worked the first 5 1/3 inning for BCas she allowed five hits while fanning five and walking one. Peyton Trapp tossed the final 1 2/3 innings for BC.
The Lady Hornets struck for two runs in the bottom of the first.
Emily Telg opened with a double to left and scored when Blair Clayton took a Wilbur offering and belted it over the left centerfield wall to make it 2-0. No runs were scored again until the sixth when the Lady Hornets erupted for seven runs to put the game away.
Alexia Perkkio got on after being hit by a Wilbur pitch. Kauder then hit a deep shot to center that was dropped as Perkkio raced in to score.
Clayton drew a walk and with two outs, Daeghan Drgac roped a two-run double to center to make it 5-0 as Wilbur left the mound after that.
Jordan Schehin drew a walk from Trapp. Sierra Long then hit into a fielder’s choice. The Lady Cardinals tried to get a out at home but Drgac was called safe. They then tried to get Long out going to second, she was safe and Schehin was able to score on the play.
After a walk to Kylie Johnson, Telg brought in the eighth run on a groundout and Perkkio brought i the last run on an error.
For the Lady Cardinals, Caitlin Denison had a one-out single to left in the top of the second and went to second on a Maggie Garcia sacrifice bunt but was left stranded.
In the top of the third, Baili Thibodaux drew a leadoff walk from Kauder and Faith Kaufman reached on a perfect bunt single.
Hannah Carpenter then hit a fly ball to left that was dropped but it ended up forcing Thibodaux out at third.
Wilbur hit a high fly ball that was dropped at second. Due to the infield fly rule, Wilbur was called out at first as the runners were able to move to second in third.
Kauder got out of the jam when she struck out Meagan Sourdellia.
The Lady Cardinals’ other hit came in the top of the seventh when Thibodaux crushed a Kauder offering for a leadoff double to deep center but the Lady Hornets came away unscathed.