For the second consecutive season, the Highland Park varsity softball team swept a best-of-three series in the bi-district round of the UIL playoffs, and, for the second consecutive year, HP will face Rockwall in the area round of post-season play.

The Lady Scots advanced by virtue of two shut-out wins over W.T. White High School.  The first, a 5-0, one-hit blanking last Thursday at Lady Longhorn Field, then, this past Saturday at the HP Softball Field,  a 10-0 win in a run rule shortened 5 inning game.

In both games, HP’s senior pitcher Katie Bell was sharp;  she followed-up her one-hit, 9 strike-out win on Thursday with a 3 hit, 4 strike-out game -- only throwing 50 pitches, about half her normal pitch count. 

Bell had more run support on Saturday after Head Varsity Softball Coach Meredith Townsend challenged the Lady Scots before the 2^nd game to hit to their potential after a slow start at the plate in game one.  The team responded, scoring eight runs in the first two innings of Saturday’s game.

HP’s lead-off batter, shortstop Amanda Reenan, got things started for the Lady Scots right from the get-go in the bottom of the first when she singled to left.  After senior Emily Singh sacrificed Reenan to 3^rd on a sneaky bunt on which Singh was nearly safe, Reenan would easily score when the next batter, Sunny Bowden, hit a line drive double in the left-center gap. 

With one out, HP was up quickly 1-0.  Highland Park’s four-hole batter, Rennie Orr next took an 0-1 pitch and pulled it off the W.T. White 3^rd baseman’s glove.  The softball caromed into foul territory allowing Sunny Bowden to score and Orr to safely take second.  After Katie Bell drew a walk on four straight pitches (one which allowed Orr’s courtesy runner, freshman Katie Reenan, to advance to 3^rd, another, allowing her to score), HP’s hot-hitting Olivia Davis poked a single into left which scored the Lady Scots’ 4^th run of the inning.

In the bottom half of the 2^nd, then, with one out, Amanda Reenan again came to the plate, took one ball, and then blasted her 7^th dinger of the year off the high left-center field fence at the HP Softball Field.  Highland Park would add to their run total when Emily Singh smashed yet another softball off the Lady Longhorn third-baseman.  Singh would score when Sunny Bowden (who was 2-for-4 on the day, with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored) hit her 2^nd double of the afternoon -- this time an opposite field shot to right field.  Rennie Orr then hit a sac. fly to left, which scored Bowden, and when Katie Bell drew her second base-on-balls, her courtesy runner, Sarah Hall, stole 2^nd, then 3^rd -- she too would score after Olivia Davis’ 2^nd base hit.  Through only two innings, HP led 8-0.

Both teams would be held in-check in the third inning, but Highland Park would tack-on a run in the 4^th when Rennie Orr led off the inning by tapping the W.T. White pitch for her second long ball given-up on the day -- this one a solo homer to left field.  The Lady Scots tried to add more runs in the inning after Katie Bell’s single to left, but a fly-out, ground-out and pop-out left Bell stranded on-base.  For the day, HP left 5 runners on base, which was an improvement from their Thursday game when they left 7 on base.

Highland Park’s 10^th run of the game came after Amanda Reenan walked.  When Emily Singh sacrificed Reenan to 2^nd and a fielder’s choice pushed the Scottie shortstop to 3^rd, Reenan would slide home for the game winning run (10 runs after 5 complete innings) and HP had swept the first round of the playoffs yet again.

For the game, HP scored 10 runs on 9 hits and committed only one error.  The Lady Longhorns scored no runs on 3 hits and had 3 errors.

With the win, Highland Park advances on to the area round and will face Rockwall High School this Friday, May 6^th in a one game playoff at 7pm at Wylie High School.