Lady Cats Win State Crown

E-MAIL THIS

PRINT THIS

MOST POPULAR

PDF VERSION

XML VERSION

By Greg Perkins
    When the Lady Wildcats of Joseph City came, they won a seesaw battle with Elfrida Valley Union in the title game last Saturday evening to claim their seventh 1A State Softball Championship in the past 10 years.  For six of those seven titles, Teddi Baird has been at the helm of what has become a bit of a dynasty in the 1A softball ranks.
    After defeating St. David in the first round and Valley Lutheran in the second, the Lady Wildcats earned a shot at the title by taking down St. Augustine in Friday’s semifinal game.  In that game the Lady Cats fell behind in the fourth inning, but in the sixth they worked their way back into a tie when Ivorie Cochran scored. In the seventh inning the Lady Cats pushed in a pair of runs, earning them a 3-1 win and a trip to the championship game.
    Saturday's game was a battle that went back and forth.   The Lady Wildcats appeared to have things in control through the first three innings where they built a 4-0 lead. However, using a two-out rally in the fourth, Valley Union caught and passed the Lady Cats, scoring five runs to take a one run lead. That lead didn’t last long, though, as Joseph City regained the lead with three runs in the bottom of the fourth. After adding one more run to lead 8-5 the Lady Wildcats saw their hard work disappear again in the top of the sixth inning when Valley Union scored four runs to take a 9-8 lead.
    A two-out rally in the bottom of the sixth inning propelled the Lady Wildcats to their seventh title. Jaci Penrod reached on a fielder’s choice, then later scored the tying run off the bat of Ivorie Cochran, who tripled. Cochran then took advantage of a throwing error by Valley Union and scored the go ahead and eventual winning run.
    Joseph City held on in the seventh inning and won the championship by a final of 10-9.