Houston sophomore Ava Koch gets a high five from her father, assistant coach Jon Koch, after scoring in the fourth inning of the Lady Tigers' district semifinal win against Potosi. (Jeff McNiell | Houston Herald)
As expected, the top-seeded Houston softball team will play for the program’s fifth district championship. The opponent, though, is a bit of a surprise.
Houston, which put away Potosi 11-4 Monday in the Class 2 District 3 semifinals, will not play its former coach for the title. Instead, the Lady Tigers will play No. 3 Bourbon, which upset Jim Moore’s second-seeded Salem Lady Tigers 11-3 in Monday’s other semifinal.
HHS (17-7) has won 7 consecutive games and 11 out of 13 entering Wednesday’s 4 p.m. district championship game at the Trojan Sports Complex in Potosi.
Two-out fourth inning rally
Ahead 4-2, Houston pulled away with a two-out, fourth inning rally that sent 9 batters to the dish and plated 6 runs. Ashley Gilbert (pictured) and Izzy Cook had two-out hits. The duo, along with Katy Evans, had two RBIs each for the HHS offense, which out-hit Potosi 8-6.
Key defensive plays slow Potosi
The Lady Tigers made several key defensive plays to stay ahead. Sophomore third baseman Claire Benoist threw out a runner at home on a third-inning groundout. Catcher Gracyn McNiell made a diving catch on a popup to end the fourth. Houston got another out at the plate in the sixth as Evans took a relay throw from freshman right fielder Ember Green and hurled a strike to McNiell to nail a Potosi runner.
Just one combined strikeout in game
There was just one strikeout in the game as both lineups kept runners on the basepaths and the defenses busy. Potosi pitcher Kendall Logsden gave up 8 hits while walking 5, hitting 3 and striking out one. Houston’s Lilly Kincaid scattered 6 hits while walking 4 and hitting 3 in the complete-game win.
Caught stealing ends record run
After successfully stealing second base in the bottom of the first inning for her 65th straight stolen base, senior Gracyn McNiell was thrown out a few pitches later attempting to swipe third to end the run. Her streak, which dated back to her sophomore year, tied Lamar’s Stefanie Standley for third-most consecutive stolen bases in state history. McNiell started a new streak with two more steals later in the game.
Playing for title No. 5
The 2012 Lady Tigers (pictured above) won the first district championship in program history. After switching to the spring in 2019, Houston softball won back-to-back-to-back titles in 2022, 2023 and 2024. Four players on this year’s team – Evans, McNiell, Gilbert and Kincaid – were starters on the Lady Tigers’ last championship team.
