Abilene High Lady Eagles fall 4-3 to Midland Bulldogs in extra innings

Abilene High’s home game against Midland High on Tuesday featured District 2-6A’s two hottest teams. The Lady Eagles came in on a six-game winning streak, while the Bulldogs had won three of their last four.

Midland took the upper hand in this battle of surging teams, beating Abilene High 4-3 in nine innings.

Still, Lady Eagles coach Jenna Bane was pleased overall with her squad’s effort. The last time Abilene High (15-11 overall, 6-5 district) squared off against Midland, the Lady Eagles didn’t get a runner on base as they lost 2-0.

Tuesday was much different, as Abilene High led for much of the game and took it to extra innings.

“I think we played great and competed to the end,” Bane said. “We had a couple minor errors, but we played a great game.”

Abilene High got an early lead in the second inning, when Jailyn Shaw hit an RBI double for the game’s first run. Then, in the third, Lanay Carr scored on an error to give the Lady Eagles a 2-0 advantage.

But Midland (17-7, 9-2) finally found a groove in the fourth inning: The Bulldogs plated three runs on three hits, an error, a walk and a sacrifice fly.

“We had one little oopsy inning, and I think it humbled us a bit,” Bane said.

After a rough inning on the mound, Abilene High pitcher Maddie Perez regained her composure. The senior threw four scoreless innings in a row, keeping her team within striking distance.

The Lady Eagles supported Perez in the sixth inning, when Tea Jimenez scored on a fielder’s choice. Neither team scored in the seventh inning, sending the game to extra innings.

After Perez shut the Lady Bulldogs down in order, Jimenez got on base with a single with one out. But Midland turned a double play to end the inning.

For the first time since the fourth inning, Midland crossed the plate in the top of the ninth. Samantha Bustos hit a sacrifice fly, giving her team the go-ahead run.

Abilene High went strikeout, strikeout, flyout in the bottom of the ninth, ending the game.

Though the Lady Eagles got runners aboard multiple times in the last few innings, they were never able to get a timely hit to push them ahead.

“I still feel like these girls executed and put out line drives and ground balls,” Bane said. “Our hits when we needed it kind of got hung up in the air, and sometimes that happens.”

Perez pitched all nine innings and picked up the loss. She allowed just three earned runs on five hits, striking out four Bulldogs.

Though Perez didn't earn the win, the senior's performance and recovery impressed her coach.

"She threw a great game," Bane said. "She recovered great and finished out strong for us."

Midland’s Alex Aguilar earned the win, striking out 10 AHS batters and giving up three earned runs.

Offensively, Jimenez led Abilene High with three hits and two runs.

Even after the loss, Abilene High has clinched its spot in the Class 6A playoffs. A win over San Angelo Central Friday would solidify the No. 3 seed from District 2-6A.

With the postseason quickly approaching, Bane wants Tuesday’s loss to be an eye-opener.

“We’re going to humble ourselves a little bit and knock off some issues we need to knock off,” Bane said. “Reminding them that we’re a team and this game is more than just one person. It takes everybody playing their specific role.”

Midland is currently second in the district at 9-2 and could win a share of the district title with a win over first-place Wolfforth Frenship (10-1) Friday.

DISTRICT 2-6A SOFTBALL

Midland 4, Abilene High 3

Midland … 000 … 300 … 001 — 4 … 5 … 3

Abilene … 011 … 001 … 000 — 3 … 7 … 3

W — Alex Aguilar; L — Maddie Perez. 2B: Abilene, Jailyn Shaw.

Carson Field is the area sports reporter for the Abilene Reporter-News. He covers primarily Big Country high school sports. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to reporternews.com.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene High Eagles fall 4-3 to Midland Bulldogs in extra innings