Centralia and Jaylynn Brown put up another zero on Friday.
The state No. 1 Lady Panthers defeated Blair Oaks for the second time this season but did it this time in the MSHSAA softball Class 3 semifinals at Killian Softball Complex in Springfield. Brown struck 18 and wrapped up her third straight no-hitter as Centralia won 4-0 to advance to the state championship game at 2:30 p.m. tomorrow against No. 6 Oak Grove (24-9). Centralia (29-3) extended its winning streak to 14 games and shutout streak to eight to reach a place it hasn't since the 2016 state championship team, which also won 29 games. Brown walked five and loaded the bases with one out in the seventh inning, but the Lady Falcons (15-19) failed to score like what happened in early September's 3-0 game.
Madi Johnson finished 2-for-4 with a double, Tilly Fox had a two-RBI double in the three-run first inning to follow Cora King's RBI single, Ealynne Bostick had a RBI double, and Claire Page was 2-for-3 in the seven hits against all-state pitcher Ava Willson, who had 11 strikeouts and three walks in six innings.
Look for full state softball story of this game Saturday morning on the Mexico Ledger website.
