The Houston softball team begins district play Thursday afternoon following a strong finish to the regular season.
The Lady Tigers hammered Liberty 20-2 Wednesday on Carter Field to win their fifth straight game and for the 8th time in 10 outings entering the Class 2 District 3 tournament.
The unanimous top seed, HHS (15-7) faces No. 8 Steelville/Viburnum at 1:30 p.m. at the Trojan Sports Complex in Potosi. Other first-round games are: No. 4 Potosi vs. No. 5 Licking, 3 p.m.; No. 2 Salem vs. No. 7 Kingston, 4:30 p.m.; and No. 3 Bourbon vs. No. 6 Grandview, 6 p.m.
The semifinals are 4 and 5:30 p.m. on May 11. The championship game is 4 p.m. May 13.
Lopsided win over Liberty
The Lady Tigers scored 20 times on just 4 hits to run-rule Liberty in three innings. HHS took advantage of 16 walks and three errors.
Senior Natalie Clinton was 2-for-2 with a pair of doubles and 3 RBIs. Claire Benoist doubled and drove home a pair of runs. Gracyn McNiell had a RBI double for the Lady Tigers’ other hit.
Benoist, Katy Evans and Ava Koch each scored 3 times for Houston, which plated 6 runs in the first inning and 14 in the second. Evans, Koch and Jenna Warner walked 3 times apiece.
Koch allowed 4 hits and 2 runs – none earned – in 3 innings in the win. She struck out 2 and walked 1.
Eye district title No. 5
Houston has won four softball district championships – three in a row from 2022, 2023 and 2024 under coach Jim Moore, who is now the head coach at Salem. If the seeds hold true, the Lady Tigers would face Moore with a district title on the line Wednesday. The teams have played twice this year with Houston winning 5-3 and 9-8 in extra innings.
“Everyone knows what’s staring us in the face – playing Salem a third time,” first-year Houston softball coach Conaley Aaron said.
The Lady Tigers are 5-0 against district opponents, including a 19-9 victory over their first-round opponent, Steelville, on March 24.
District tournament bracket
