WACO — Heather Wicker scattered seven hits and struck out seven, leading Grapevine Faith Christian over Waco Reicher, 6-3, in the semifinals of the TAPPS 4A softball state tournament Thursday at the Waco ISD Sports Complex.
Grapevine Faith will play Fort Worth Southwest Christian, a 6-4 winner over Corpus Christi John Paul II, in the championship game. It was originally scheduled to be played in Belton but, with bad weather forecast there, is now scheduled for 6 p.m. Friday at Justin Northwest.
Aggressive base running led to Grapevine Faiths’ first first run. With one out in the third, Taylor Donegan and Wicker stroked back-to-back singles. Morgan Donegan then laid down a bunt that was fielded by catcher Katie Polansky.
Polansky had no play at first, and she was slow to cover the plate as Taylor Donegan raced home. Allyson Cope’s fielder’s choice loaded the bases, and Becca Wesley’s walk gave Grapevine Faith a 2-0 lead.
After Waco Reicher scored in the bottom of the inning, Grapevine Faith answered with three runs in the fourth as Taylor Donegan and Wicker hit consecutive RBI doubles.
Baseball
Fort Worth Christian 6, Corpus Christi John Paul II 2: Ryan Arison drove in two runs with a 3-for-4 performance, leading Fort Worth Christian in the semifinals of the TAPPS 4A state tournament at the Waco ISD Sports Complex.
With his team trailing 2-0 in the third, Arison drove in Fort Worth Christian’s first run with a single to left following Brandon Keck’s two-out double.
A four-run fifth put the game away for Fort Worth Christian, which is scheduled to face Midland Christian for the title at 2:30 p.m. Friday in Belton.
Brett Jackson and Connor Cross led off the inning with singles, and Trae Patterson bunted the runners over. Keck tied the score with a sacrifice fly to right. Three straight singles from Arison, Teddy Stankiewicz and Sterling Maness, plus a wild pitch, propelled Fort Worth Christian to a 5-2 lead.
Stankiewicz pitched a complete game, striking out eight and walking none.