PETAL – It’s been three years since Petal won the state championship in softball in Wendy Hogue’s final game as head coach of the Panthers.
Now her successor has Petal on the doorstep of another championship in Shelly Flood’s third season at the helm, after the Panthers defeated Harrison Central 6-1 Friday night, clinching a two-game sweep in the quarterfinal round of the Class 7A playoffs at Lady Panther Field.
Petal (24-8) advanced to the South State final series next weekend against Northwest Rankin. The Red Rebels finished their season 14-16.
“I think we are great,” said Flood. “We have lots of depth, we have lots of leadership, and we’ve been saying for two years now that this is going to be the year we win state again.
“The girls believe, and they know there’s a chance for that. And we’re excited to advance through and keep playing.”
The Panthers rode the longball and a vintage performance from junior right-hander Jaley Weathersby to the victory.
“We start out by looking at the flag, see where the wind is blowing, and we take advantage of it,” said sophomore Kam Lofton. “If it’s blowing out like it was tonight, we know we if we hit the ball hard, the wind will carry it out.”
And a stiff wind blowing straight out to centerfield was the difference for Lofton, who got the hit parade started with a solo home run in the bottom of the first inning.
That came after Weathersby worked around a two-out double in the top half of the inning, getting a groundout to keep Harrison Central off the scoreboard.
“It was big knowing my team has my back, getting us out of the inning, so we could go back out and get some runs,” said Weathersby.
“It’s good when you have some cushion when you’re pitching. I know my offense is hitting, and they’re getting it done piece-by-piece, inning-by-inning.”
Indeed, when Weathersby went back out for the second inning, she had a lead that she would never relinquish, thanks to Lofton’s bomb with one out in the bottom of the first off Red Rebel senior Gabrielle Smith.
“She got a strike on me, but I knew she had a riseball, and my favorite pitch is a high inside fastball, so that’s what I was looking for,” said Lofton. “She pitched it to me, and I was, like, yeah, that’s the pitch I’ve been waiting on.”
Petal added three more runs in the bottom of the third, two coming on a one-out rocket shot off the bat of senior Morgan Taylor, the first pitch she saw after junior Layla Brock legged out an infield single to shortstop.
“I knew they were going to try to pitch it down to me,” said Taylor. “I wasn’t trying to chase, but I was ready for anything high or low, then I could adjust to something not-down-the-middle perfect.
“First game (a 9-6 Petal win on Thursday), I knew they weren’t going to pitch me first-pitch strike, and they didn’t. So I was just going to swing at anything close.”
Petal made it 4-0 when junior Miley Richardson drew a walk, went to second on a single by senior Taylor Foster and scored on a single by sophomore Sarah Grace Miller.
Like Taylor, senior Gracie Drinkwater turned on the first pitch she saw with one out in the bottom of the fourth to pad the Panther lead, getting another ball into the wind and over the centerfield fence.
“My first two at-bats, I been beaten on the high pitch,” said Drinkwater. “I’d gotten under it a little bit both times. So I made sure I got my hands under the pitch and popped the ball into the wind.”
The Panthers have four seniors, three of whom started as freshmen on Petal’s Class 6A state title team in 2022. They got the Panthers through two rebuilding years, and now it’s their turn to lead.
“They know what it takes to get there,” said Flood. “They know things get harder and harder the further you go.
“The pressure is tougher and harder, so that the teams that are there at the end are all really good. We know we have to play harder each game. We can’t take a play off.”
Petal, seeded second in Region 3-7A behind Northwest Rankin, needed three games to get past Gulfport in the first round, but the Panthers were dialed in against Harrison Central.
“Lately, the thing we’ve talked about is, ‘all gas,’” said Flood. “No more tapping the brakes, no more slowing down. All gas.”
Weathersby got out of a jam in the top of the fifth after the Red rebels led off the inning with a pair of singles. But a called third strike and a pair of infield popups kept the shutout intact.
“I’m pretty sure it was a backdoor curveball,” said Weathersby. “Something a little different. She wasn’t expecting it. She was looking outside, so coming in to her right down the line, I guess, froze her.”
The Panthers kept the heat on in the bottom of the fifth, scoring a run when Taylor led off with a single inside the bag at third base and a double into the left-centerfield gape by Richardson.
Harrison Central scored its only run in the sixth on a dropped ball in the outfield with two out after Smith led off the inning with a single. But with the runner on third, Weathersby got a slow roller to second for the third out of the inning.
Weathersby (14-7) scattered four hits, struck out four and walked just one.
“She is so tough,” said Flood. “She’s been carrying us through this year. She did a great job last year, but this years, it’s like a switch has been flipped.
“She shows no emotion out there, and while that frustrates me sometimes, at the same time it doesn’t matter if she’s getting rocked or if she’s striking everybody out. You don’t see a difference in her demeanor, and makes a difference in her performance.”
Northwest Rankin defeated Brandon 3-2 Friday night to sweep that series, and the Cougars will have home-field advantage.
Petal lost both regular-season meetings between the two teams in region play, but the Panthers are confident they can get to Southern Miss for the state finals in two weeks.
“ My freshman year, we were very strong, very senior-heavy,” said Drinkwater.
“After we lost those seven seniors, we’ve had a couple of rebuilding years. But this year, you can’t tell the difference from then to now. We fight, we have grit and we’re just getting ready to kill everyone we see.”
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