PORT NECHES — There always has to be an ending to every story.
Port Neches-Groves softball Jessica Lemoine, the author of the Lady Indians’ story, was disappointed with the way her team’s tale was completed Friday.
The Kingwood Park Lady Panthers eliminated the Lady Indians after a 9-2 victory in the Class 5A Region III bi-district playoffs at Port Neches-Groves High School. Kingwood Park defeated PN-G 9-0 Thursday in Game 1 of the series at Kingwood Park.
“No matter short of a run or deep of a run you have, it is never fun to have a story end when you are a part of being the author of it,” Lemoine said. “There is much good to say about this group. There is so much to be proud of and so much heart. There are so many cliché things to say that I don’t want to keep rattling off, but this was the best team I have been the coach of.”
The Lady Indians (21-10) could not catch a break against the Lady Panthers (22-8-1) Friday.
Jessi Wood put Kingwood Park up 1-0 in the first with a RBI double. The Lady Indians got out of the jam with a double play on a squeeze attempt.
PN-G got the run back in the bottom of the first when senior Avery Hooks laid down a perfect sacrifice bunt to score Kaitlyn Boudreaux. She had led off the inning with a triple.
Kingwood Park scored again in the third off a couple of PN-G errors to take a 2-1 lead and then scored three in the fourth to go up 5-1.
All three of the Lady Panthers runs in fourth came off two Lady Indians errors.
Brooke Smith scored the last run of the PN-G season after she led off the fifth with a single and came in to score on a Boudreaux double.
The Panthers got a run in the sixth and then scored three in the seventh to cap the game’s scoring.
“It is heart breaking to see them having to be done right now,” Lemoine said.
Lemoine shrugged off the notion the Lady Indians might have planned their worst softball of the season in the last two games. She gave credit to Kingwood Park and said the scores do not show how hard her team competed against the Lady Panthers.
“We came out and couldn’t hit Thursday but then hit the crap out of the ball right at people,” Lemoine said. “We would make fantastic defensive plays and then have an error with runners in scoring position. It was very similar to tonight’s game.”
The Lady Indians lose only one senior, Avery Hooks, off a team that shared the District 22-5A title with Nederland.
“I have been here three years and she was a sophomore when I got here,” Lemoine said. “It is tough to lose her. Our program has been built back into a title contender like it should be and it starts with the play of Avery.”
Bailey Crorey had a double and a triple for PN-G.