Woodland falls in Sweet Sixteen series

The Woodland softball team had its season come to a close Wednesday night in Fayetteville with a second round, Class AAAAA playoff doubleheader loss at Whitewater.

Whitewater won the opening game of the best-of-three series 4-1 and took the nightcap by an 8-2 final score.

In the opener, Whitewater broke open a 1-1 game with four consecutive hits in the fifth inning, including a two-run home run. Earlier, Woodland had tied the contest 1-1 in the second inning on three consecutive hits by Kendyl Hardin, Morgan Cooper (double), and Kailey Baker (RBI). Bella Carnes and Allyssa Motes had the only other Woodland hits in Game 1. Lainey Baker (6 IP, 4ER, 11H, 1BB, 6K) suffered the pitching loss. In Game 2, Whitewater — also Wildcats — took a 7-0 lead through five and one-half innings. Woodland scored single runs in each of the final two frames. Cooper had an RBI double in the sixth and Morgan Bailey singled home Carnes in the seventh after she reached on a two-out triple. Cooper finished the second game with a pair of doubles. Lainey Baker (5 IP, 3ER, 6H, 2BB, 3K) again took the loss in the circle. Hope Schultz (2 IP, 5ER, 4H, 4BB, 1K) worked the final two innings in relief. The Lady Cats, who saw the playing careers of five seniors draw to a close, finished the season with a 21-12 record.

The five Woodland seniors on the Woodland roster are Bella Carnes, Morgan Bailey, Allyssa Motes, Hope Schultz, and Brianna Hill. Whitewater, champions of Region 3-AAAAA, improved to 27-6 for the year and advance to the Final Eight double-elimination state tournament in Columbus October 24-26.