Morgan Catron Powers Mineola to Game 1 Win Over Spring Hill

LONGVIEW -- The road to a second consecutive state tournament might be a challenge for Mineola, but if Friday's playoff opener is any indication, the Lady Jackets could have another long playoff run in store.

Junior catcher Morgan Catron homered twice and had five RBIs, powering No. 16 Mineola to an 8-1 win over Spring Hill in Game 1 of their Class 3A Region II bi-district playoff series.

Mineola (23-7), which reached the 2A state semifinals a season ago, and Spring Hill (18-14) resume the series with Game 2 at 10 a.m. Saturday in Mineola. If a third game is necessary, it would follow the conclusion of Game 2.

Catron's first homer of the night, a deep drive over the wall in left field in the third inning, immediately followed Marisa Ledkins' solo blast to straightaway center and gave Mineola a 4-0 lead. Her second bomb of the night -- a three-run shot in the seventh -- cleared the fence in left-center.

Mineola's eight-run, 11-hit attack provided ample support for junior pitcher Rikkilyn Hass, who earned the complete-game win. Hass, who did not allow her first hit until there were two outs in the fourth, gave up one run on five hits and struck out five.

Most of the offensive damage was left to Ledkins and Catron, who combined to go 6-for-8 with three homers, six RBIs and five runs scored.

Spring Hill was led at the plate by Ashlyn White, who had two of the Lady Panthers' five hits on the night.

Mineola jumped on Spring Hill early with two runs in the first. Catron knocked in Brittney Johnson with a single through the left side. The Lady Jackets made it 2-0 when Ledkins scored from third on a double-steal attempt.

Mineola went up 5-0 in the fourth on Kassy Skinner’s run-scoring single to center.

Spring Hill got on the board in the fifth when Kylie Boyce reached on an error with two outs that allowed Jacey Fleet to score from third.

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No. 16 Mineola 8, Spring Hill 1

Class 3A Region II Bi-District Playoff
(Best-of-three series)
Game 1

Spring Hill High School, Longview

Mineola            202    100    3    --    8   11    4
Spring Hill         000    010    0    --    1    5    3

Mineola: Rikkilyn Hass and Morgan Catron. Spring Hill: Hailie Gilbert, Ashlyn White (4) and Madison Haney.

WP -- Hass.
LP -- Gilbert.

2B -- Mineola: Ali Galaz.
HR -- Mineola: Marisa Ledkins (third inning, solo), Catron 2 (third, solo; seventh, two on).

Records -- Mineola: 23-7. Spring Hill: 18-14.