JUSTIN — Heather Wicker pitched a complete game and drove in three runs to lead Grapevine Faith Christian to a 9-4 victory over Fort Worth Southwest Christian in the TAPPS 4A softball state championship game Monday at Justin Northwest.
Trailing 1-0 in the top of the third, Grapevine Faith Christian (24-12) scored five runs. Emilee Barrett led off with a walk, and Kaitlyn Alderink hit a run-scoring triple to tie the score. Taylor Donegan’s infield single scored Alderink, then Wicker doubled home Donegan.
Wicker smacked a two-run home run in the top of the fourth to extend the lead to 7-1. After Fort Worth Southwest Christian (17-6) scored twice in the bottom of the fifth to make it 7-4, Donegan hit a two-run homer in the top of the sixth.
Two former University of Texas pitchers were reunited.
Brittany Barnhill, who was a star at Justin Northwest before going on to play in college for Texas and Mississippi, is now an assistant coach and the pitching coach for Grapevine Faith Christian.
Fort Worth Southwest Christian head coach Meagan White was a standout at Crowley High School and pitched with Barnhill at Texas in 2008, when she went by Meagan Denny.
The teams had met twice in the regular season, with each winning at home in walk-off fashion.