Centralia has its first 20-win team since 2017.
The Class 3 No. 1 Lady Panthers reached that total on Saturday after three wins in the Centralia Invitational, defeating Class 3 No. 3 Hallsville 4-2 in the championship game. They won their home tournament for the second straight season after Jaylynn Brown struck out 16 and allowed two unearned runs on two hits and a walk in seven innings pitched. Cora King hit a two-RBI home run, and Madi Johnson finished 3-for-3 with a double and a sacrifice fly. Centralia dominated the rest of the day, beating Hannibal 12-5 and Smith-Cotton 19-0 while allowing only three hits against Hannibal among the two games. The victory against Hallsville is Centralia's first regular season one against the Lady Indians since 2020 as the Lady Panthers' district win from two years ago was their only win against Hallsville in five meetings.
Centralia plays at North Callaway (19-10) at 5 p.m. Monday.
Look for the full story in the Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2024, edition of the Mexico Ledger.
