For six innings, it seemed to be any team's game in Saturday's Class 3 MSHSAA state championship.
State No. 6 Oak Grove scored six runs on four hits in the seventh inning to defeat No. 1 Centralia 8-3 to give the Lady Panthers their first loss in 15 games. Still, Centralia finishes the season 29-4 to match the win total earned by the 2016 state championship team and brought home the program's first Final Four trophy since that season. Oak Grove (25-9) wins it all after finishing third at last year's Final Four, losing 3-2 to the state champion Fatima.
Jaylynn Brown struck out 11 and allowed three earned runs on six hits and three walks to counter returning all-state sophomore Molly Munson and her seven innings of three earned runs on six hits and two walks. Senior Bailey Schuering was 2-for-3 with one RBI in her final game as a Lady Panther, Madi Johnson had a RBI and Brown hit an inside-the-park home run.
Look for a full state softball story in the Wednesday, Nov. 6, 2024, edition of the Mexico Ledger.
