It isn’t swagger, but its close. Just call it confidence, or better yet, call it belief in self. Whatever it is, the 2024 Lady Jackets have it. 

They staged yet another comeback. This time it was against the Lady Tigers of Mt. Vernon, on a Friday night in Winnsboro. The game had been moved from Mineola to Winnsboro due to wet field conditions.

Through the first four innings, the Lady Tigers appeared to be cruising. They had put runners on base in each of the first three innings, but it was a six-run fourth which took control of the game.  

Mineola likewise put one runner on in each of the first three innings, but no rally was followed. The best chance for Mineola in the early innings came when Gracie Lindley led off the bottom of the third. With an excellent at bat, she drew a walk on 10 pitches. She eventually came around to third on a Caroline Castleberry single through the right side, but both were stranded.

Two Mt. Vernon RBI-doubles,  two walks and two Mineola errors became a disaster for the Lady Jackets in the top of the fourth. Freshman hurler Journie Wilson began to tire in the fourth and lost her strike zone, getting behind the Lady Tiger line-up. 

Mt. Vernon certainly had the momentum. In the bottom half, when they gunned down Emily Hodges trying to go from first to third on a Wilson single to right field, it appeared that Mt. Vernon had  firm control of the game. 

Jadelyn Marshall took up pitching duties in the fifth for Mineola.

Then it started to drizzle. The rain just seemed to buoy the Lady Jackets and likewise demoralize the Lady Tigers.

Mineola clawed back four runs in the fourth. With Lindley at third (having walked) and Mahayla McMahon at first (having singled), the Jackets worked a nifty coordinated steal of home. McMahon broke for second on a steal attempt. The Mt. Vernon throw went from the catcher back to the pitcher. The Lady Tiger hurler, instead of throwing back to the plate to get Lindley, turned and threw the ball, wildly, into center field. Both runners scored. 

Later in the inning Jaycee Smith reached on a fielder’s choice and Kali Chrietzberg followed with a walk. Wilson stepped in and blistered a shot down the right field line which chased Smith and Chrietzberg. The Jackets had made it a ballgame, 6-4 Mt. Vernon, going into the sixth.

The winds began to bluster and the rain steadily increased. 

Marshall faced five Lady Tigers in the top of the sixth and retired the side stranding two baserunners. 

Maybe it’s been the recent talk about the miraculous comeback of the 2013 squad in the state finals, but this group of softballers also know no quit. 

A titanic smash by Kali Chrietzberg in the form of a 3-run homer gave the Lady Jackets the lead in the sixth. More followed as Mt. Vernon  suffered a mini-collapse. 

Now playing in a full-blown squall, the Lady Jackets went on to push 10 runs across. 

The Lady Tigers added two runs in the top of the seventh, for a 14-8 final score.

There was plenty of celebrating in the monsoon at the final out. The Lady Jackets had derailed a very good softball team. And they did it largely because they believed they could. 

The defensive play of the game came in the first. Mt. Vernon had runners on second and third with two outs. The left-hitting Lady Tiger batsman nailed a hard-hit line drive into right field.

In one of the most difficult catches in softball, Lady Jacket right-fielder Emily Hodges broke for the ball at full tilt, running directly at the hot line drive. She made the catch at her knees while in a dead sprint. That play was characteristic of the Lady Jackets mentality and play all night.

Mineola stands 2-0 to start district play. After traveling to Chapel Hill, hosting Winona, and playing at Harmony,  the Lady Jackets will have a face-off at Winnsboro on Friday, March 22.