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high school sportsSoftball

Softball: Plano to face hot San Antonio O’Connor

Forney, Celina also stand two wins away from state titles

One Class 5A state semifinal Friday will match defending 5A state champion Pearland against The Woodlands — the No. 1-ranked softball team in the nation.

The other will be a clash of two of the hottest teams in the state.

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Making its first trip to the state tournament in Austin, Plano (39-4) will play San Antonio O’Connor (33-4) at 5 p.m. Friday. O’Connor has outscored its playoff opponents, 86-20, including 32-2 in a two-game sweep of San Benito in the 5A Region IV final.

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Plano — No. 4 in the USA Today/National Fastpitch Coaches Association national rankings — has won 25 of its last 26 games. In Game 1 of the 5A Region I final against Keller, Plano rallied from a 3-0 deficit for a 5-4 win. In Game 2, Plano came back from an 8-1 deficit to win 9-8 by scoring seven runs in the sixth inning and the winning run in the bottom of the seventh.

“They’re never out of the game,” Plano coach Cynthia Zea said. “The comeback they did against Keller, it’s not like they’re coming back against an average team. They’re coming back against a great team. They just never believe they’re out. That’s what I think is going to help us at the state tournament. They just don’t give up.”

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Forney (36-7) will face defending 4A state champion Waco Midway (37-4) at 2 p.m. Friday. Forney has averaged eight runs per game in the playoffs, while Midway has allowed a total of seven runs in seven playoff games. Midway beat Forney, 9-2, on April 16.

Celina (34-6-3) will play Huntington (31-8) in a 3A semifinal at 8:30 a.m. Friday. Huntington was the 3A state champion in 2008, and Celina was the 3A runner-up in 2009. Celina is the only one of the 3A semifinalists that was a No. 1 seed from its district.