IT’S GONE! | Our softball Flyover, a round-up of all the games from the ETB area on Tuesday night
If a coach could order up exactly how they’d want their team to be playing going into the playoffs, it would probably look exactly what Henderson High School softball is doing right now.
The Lady Lions are pitching well, they’re hitting well – they’re probably even EATING well right now, as they won their fifth straight game Tuesday night, topping Kilgore, 19-1.
Henderson is 21-6-1 overall and 9-2 in District 16-4A, and that’s third place in the district standings right now, although it’s hard to imagine anyone playing better.
The Lady Lions have just one game left in the regular season: at home against Carthage on Thursday. According to the schedule, that’s a 5 p.m. junior varsity start, varsity afterward. And then the University Interscholastic League’s Class 4A playoffs will begin next week, when the dust settles about who’s seeded where.
Tuesday night at Kilgore, there was a lot to talk about for Henderson, and Boothe did a good bit of it. She had a home run, a triple, and 2 RBI at the plate, then only allowed one hit on the mound (Kilgore’s Molly Quine, who also had an RBI). Boothe had seven strikeouts.
Also for Henderson, Niya Vanzandt had two doubles, a single and 4 RBI; Chloe Ellis had two doubles and 3 RBI; Kristina Jackson and McKenna Moon each had a double and an RBI; Jayda Brown had three singles and 2 RBI; Brinklee Bowman had two singles and an RBI; and Anna Cheek had an RBI.
Gilmer 9, Pine Tree 0: Alexis Kemp and the Lady Buckeyes bounced back nicely from the loss to Henderson last weekend with a shutout win over Pine Tree in Longview on Tuesday. Kemp didn’t allow PT’s Lady Pirates a single hit in the shutout, walking only three and had 13 strikeouts.
Carthage routed Chapel Hill, 16-0, in the other game in 16-4A on Tuesday night.
The Lady Buckeyes (19-4-2, 9-2 in district) will host Kilgore (5-18) on Friday, a 5 p.m. JV start, varsity to follow.
In addition to the big game from Kemp on the mound on Tuesday, Livi Brown and Jayna Rucker each had a home run; Rucker had 2 RBI. Kara Williams had two singles and 2 RBI. Brie Jones had two singles. Alex Werbeck had a double and an RBI, and Lily Henson had an RBI.
The loss somewhat overshadowed a good performance on the mound from PT’s Taylor Burkhart, who had 12 strikeouts and walked just two in seven innings.
District 16-3A
Arp 16, West Rusk 4: Senior Aubry Way, junior Lacy Fletcher and sophomore Hannah Martindale all went yard Tuesday and combined for 10 – yep, 10 – RBI in a 16-4 win at home over West Rusk.
The result: Arp’s Lady Tigers won their 10th straight game.
Arp is 25-4 overall, 11-1 in District 16-3A play, and according to the schedule, that concludes their regular season. They’re tied, though, with Troup for the best record in the district – each team has that 11-1 record, so that’ll have to be solved.
Way had a home run and 6 RBI and finished 4-of-4 in Tuesday’s win over the Lady Raiders; Fletcher went 2-of-3 with a home run, a triple, and 4 RBI; and Martindale had a home run and a single and finished 2-for-3 with 2 RBI.
Also for the Lady Tigers, Maddie Birdsong went 2-for-4 with 3 RBI and scored twice; Addison Carpenter went 2-for-3 with an RBI and scored three times; and Neci Potts had a single and scored.
Carpenter through a complete game (in this case, five innings, due to the UIL’s 10-run-rule) and had four strikeouts, allowed four runs (three earned) on six hits and walked three.
For West Rusk, Dustyn Redden continued her hot streak with a home run, a solo shot. Genesis Mata had a triple and an RBI. Summer LeJeune had two singles and an RBI. Lyric McCandless had two singles, and Kenlee Reasoner had a single and an RBI.
According to their schedule, that game was the regular season finale for West Rusk.
Troup 16, Sabine 1: Sixteen runs was apparently a popular number Tuesday night, as Troup’s Lady Tigers also plated that many in a road win over Sabine.
The Lady Tigers, as mentioned, are also 11-1 in district play. They’re 23-5 overall, and have won 11 straight. Like Arp, like West Rusk, Tuesday’s game was the final one on their regular season schedule.
This was a run-rule-shortened game, as well, of course, going only three innings. Troup scored eight runs in the first, then scattered eight more in the next two innings; Sabine got a run in the third to prevent the shutout.
Kiyah Arterberry, just a freshman for the Lady Tigers, went 3-of-3, all of them doubles, and had 4 RBI. She also scored three times.
Freshman Ava Hayes went 2-of-3 with 2 RBI, and scored a run. And another freshman, Olivia Anderson, went 2-of-3 and had 2 RBI, and scored a run. Sophomore Shiloh Sluder went 2-for-3, as well, and stole three bases.
Taylor Gillispie, our current Whataburger / ETBlitz.com girls Player of the Week (WR’S JACKSON, TROUP’S GILLISPIE | The Whataburger / ETB Players of the Week for April 7-12!), had a hit and an RBI, and MaKayla Spencer also had a hit. Gillispie, Spencer and Heather Longino all scored twice. Lili Priest and London Driggers each scored once. Driggers also had a stolen base.
Arterberry got the win on the mound, too: she pitched all three innings, allowing one run (unearned) on three hits, walked one, and had four strikeouts.
For Sabine, Madison Pierce had a single and an RBI; Breanna Hill had a single; and Keely McCann also had a single. Kattlin Akers and Maycie Westbrook pitched for Sabine; Akers went 1 1/3 innings, Westbrook 1 2/3.
White Oak 17, Tatum 7: One of the most decorated athletes in the ETBlitz.com area since we launched this website in 2023 has been White Oak’s Addison McClanahan.
Tuesday night, she reminded everyone just why.
McClanahan had a home run, two doubles, a single and had 4 RBI, as coach Nineveh Blankenship’s team laid claim to the No. 3 seed in 16-3A with a home win over Tatum.
Gladewater (9-14-1, 5-7 in district), who had the open date on the final day of the regular season, finished fourth and gets that fourth and final playoff spot in 16-3A.
Doubles were everywhere on Tuesday for White Oak (12-11-1 overall, 6-4 in district play): Makayla Fobb had a double; Madi Baker had one, as well, and two singles; Grace Heairet had a double and 3 RBI; Addy Young and Jaidyn Marshall each had two singles.
Young and Kara Kennedy each were on the mound for White Oak, and each had two strikeouts.
Tatum (7-13) got a home run from Alexandria Brown, who went 2-for-3; two singles and 2 RBI from Noa Cart; and a hit each from Layla Icenhower (a double), Lily Crawford, Camryn Milam, and Alex Tovar. Tovar, Crawford and Milam also each had an RBI.
Cart pitched for Tatum, giving up seven runs (just three earned) on eight hits, and two walks.
That, according to the schedule, wrapped up Tatum’s 2025 season.
District 19-2A
Overton
The Lady Mustangs had a goal of beating Beckville twice this week to clinch the District 19-2A championship.
Instead, it looks like they’ll have to settle for beating Beckville once, because Beckville managed to do something no one else has been able to do lately: they got past Overton, 11-2, on Tuesday night.
That stopped, unfortunately for the Lady Mustangs and their fans, a 13-game winning streak.
But Overton is still 12-1 in district play, and 16-9-1 overall.
They’ll load the bus on Thursday for a rematch, this time in Beckville, at 4:30 p.m., the final game of the regular season before the UIL’s Class 2A playoffs begin.
As the road team on Tuesday, Beckville took a 1-0 lead with a run in the top of the first, then added two more (3-0) before the Lady Mustangs scored two of their own to get within a run, 3-2, in the bottom of the third.
After a scoreless fourth inning, though, Beckville would have all the runs the rest of the way, and Overton had an uncharacteristic five errors.
Kasha Williams had a double and an RBI for the Lady Mustangs; Mason Fenter went 2-of-3, both singles, and had a stolen base; and Chelsea Jordan also had a single.
Emily Grandgeorge was the big hitter for Beckville (21-7-2 overall, 13-0 in district) in the game, with two home runs and 5 RBI.
