Winnsboro takes the win over Mineola

Posted 3/30/23

It was a rare phenomenon – an occasion when the spirit of baseball purges a team of a season’s worth of errors.  

A ball hops over an infielder’s glove (as if on purpose), …

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Winnsboro takes the win over Mineola

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It was a rare phenomenon – an occasion when the spirit of baseball purges a team of a season’s worth of errors. 

A ball hops over an infielder’s glove (as if on purpose), a line drive impacts in a fielder’s mitt and rolls out the webbing, a routine pick-up in the outfield ends up rolling to the fence, two players try to get an out at third with no one covering. 

Defensively, it was a long evening, last Friday, for the Lady Jackets in Winnsboro as they fell 12-5.

Yet there were occasions, despite the self-inflicted damage, when one could sense that the game was within reach of the Lady Jackets.  

Two of those occasions came in the fourth. Mineola scrambled to put two runners on base in the top half.

Jadelyn Marshall dropped a base hit into left field to score Gracie Finley. Finley had been pushed into scoring position by a very well-executed Jorja Young bunt. Mineola closed the score to 8-4.

In the bottom half of the inning, Mineola catcher Jaycee Smith pegged a perfect throw to second base where shortstop Young was waiting. All Young had to do was turn and wait for the Winnsboro baserunner. It was a textbook play.

Those indications of challenging the lead just did not pan out on the night. The combination of seven (unofficial) Mineola errors and some solid hitting by the Lady Raiders were too much to overcome. 

The Lady Jackets closed the score to 8-5 in the fifth, but it was as close to the hosts as they could get. 

Taking advantage of two Mineola fielding errors while banging out four base hits, the Lady Raiders put five runs on the board in the first. They added two more in the second.

The Winnsboro starter lost her control in the top of the third, walking in three Mineola runs. 

Both teams settled a bit in the middle innings with Mineola showing signs of hope.

Their defense seemed to stabilize, and Lady Jacket starter Marshall became more effective as the game drew on. 

The Lady Raiders cemented their win by putting up an additional four runs in the fifth. They cracked three base hits and took advantage of three Lady Jacket errors. 

The Winnsboro fifth inning ended by Mineola turning a 1-2-3 double play. It wasn’t the only defensive gem of the night. 

In the bottom of the sixth, left fielder Gracie Lindley made the play of the game. She had to close hard on a liner ripped into left. Charging directly at the drive, Lindley made a catch just off the grass, executing one of the most difficult catches in softball.    

The next opportunity to see the Lady Jackets in action will be Friday at Quitman. First pitch is scheduled for 3:30 p.m.