PAULS VALLEY — The Pauls Valley Lady Panthers found their moment when they needed it most Thursday night, erasing a long-standing deficit with a four-run rally in the sixth inning to claim a dramatic 4-1 victory over a tough St. Mary’s Rockets team.
The win provided a long-awaited sigh of relief for the Lady Panthers, ending a frustrating five-game losing streak.
Stellar pitching and good defense defined most of the night. St. Mary’s Madeline Jones and PV’s Raegan Close matched each other pitch-for-pitch.
St. Mary’s broke the ice early with Ella Steel. After drawing a one-out walk, Steel stole second, advanced to third on a fly ball out, and scampered home on a passed ball to put the Rockets up 1-0.
For the next five innings, that single run looked like it might stand as the winner. The pitching and defense continued to dominate with 16 of 17 straight batters recording an out.
Lily Rowland took over in the circle in the third for Pauls Valley and delivered a brilliant performance, holding the Rockets at bay across five strong innings of work to keep her team within striking distance.
Then, the bottom of the sixth.
The spark came from Elliot Owen, who ripped a sharp double down the left-field line to ignite the rally. Mallory Carter followed up, dropping a single between center field and second base, expertly taking second on the throw home to put two runners in scoring position.
Moments later, Close delivered the swing of the night, rocketing a hard ground ball up the middle into center field. Close drove home both Owen and Carter to vault Pauls Valley into a 2-1 lead.
The rally didn't stop there. Down to their final out of the inning, Paisley Tibbs came off the bench, drawing a four-pitch walk to keep the pressure on. Jessie Caldwell delivered the knockout blow—roping a clutch two-run double down the right-field line, scoring Close and Tibbs, giving PV a comfortable three-run cushion.
Handed a 4-1 lead in the top of the seventh, Rowland closed the door in dominant fashion. She needed just 13 pitches to set down the Rockets to secure a complete team victory.
Pauls Valley played two games this morning in Stratford at the Lady Bulldog Festival. They will wrap up play Saturday in Stratford.
