The race for the district softball championship looks to be a two-team race following the Lady Friars' 4-3 win over Ursuline on Friday.
Bishop Lynch (10-0) swept the season series against the Bears (7-3) and essentially knocked Ursuline out of any realistic shot at contending for the TAPPS 1-5A title with the two teams having just four games remaining.
The Lady Friars are scheduled to play those final four games over the next four days, however, that hectic schedule is at the mercy of the weather, which hasn't been cooperating lately.
After facing Bishop Dunne this evening, the Lady Friars will head to Nolan on Tuesday for a 7 p.m. contest against the 10-1 Lady Vikings, whose only district loss was a 10-6 decision at Bishop Lynch on Mar. 26. The winner of that contest will be in the drivers' seat to win the district title.
In Friday's game against Ursuline, the Lady Friars countered each of the Bears' first two scoring plays and staved off a seventh-inning rally behind the arm of freshman Abby Thrash (6Ks) and the bat of freshman Madison White (2H, 2RBIs).
Ursuline's Miranda Papes (7Ks, 0BB) was solid in the pitching circle as well as at the plate (3-3, 2B), but her teammates were unable to match the timely hitting of the Lady Friars.
Bishop Lynch returned to the field early Saturday morning to finish off a sweep of Prestonwood Christian (1-12) with a 15-0 win in three innings.
Kristen Linares tossed a three-inning no-hitter with six strikeouts and just one walk. She also had a pair of hits at the plate. Shannon Hasty drove in three runs and Noelle Pastor led the offense with two hits and four RBIs.
Weather permitting, the Lady Friars will finish the regular season games at Dunne today, at Nolan on Tuesday and at Trinity Christian on Thursday. The team's home finale will be Wednesday against John Paul II.
The playoffs begin next week.
Varsity Softball — Friday, April 22
UA 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 — 3 10 3
BL 0 2 0 2 0 0 x — 4 6 1
WP: Abby Thrash 7IP, 10H, 3R, 3ER, 2BB, 6Ks
Hitting: Madison White 2-3, R, 2B, 2RBIs; Annabel Quinn 1-3, 3B, RBI; Megan Metry 1-2, 2R, 2SB
Varsity Softball — Saturday, April 23
PCA 0 0 0 x x x x — 0 0 4
BL 4 10 1 x x x x — 15 13 0
WP: Kristen Linares 3IP, 0H, 0R, 0ER, BB, 6Ks
Hitting: Kristen Linares 2-2, BB, 2R, RBI; Shannon Hasty 1-1, 3RBIs; Noelle Pastor 2-3, 2R, 4RBIs; Abby Thrash 2-3, 2R, 2B; Francesca Farlow 1-3, 2R, RBI; Rachel Rychlik 1-1, 3R, 2BB; Lindsay Tujaque 2-2, 2R, 2B
Record: 11-7 overall, 10-0 district
Next Game(s): Monday at Bishop Dunne, 4:30 p.m.; Tuesday at Nolan Catholic, 7 p.m.