State softball: Kingwood, Liberty ready to compete for championships

Plus: Get ready for baseball regional finals  ͏  ͏  ͏

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May 27, 2024

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Kingwood, Liberty ready to compete for softball state championships

As the UIL softball state tournament gets underway this week at Red and Charline McCombs Field in Austin, the two Houston-area teams competing have very different stories.

Kingwood is making its third appearance overall and first since falling to Lewisville in the state championship game in 2013. Liberty, meanwhile, has been a Class 4A powerhouse and will be making its fourth consecutive trip with hopes of claiming its fourth title since 2018.

Kingwood (36-7) clinched its spot with a sweep of Katy, which had been the No. 1-ranked team in the country for several weeks. The Mustangs are led by coach Christa Williams-Yates, a former Team USA pitcher who has the program on the brink of history in her first season.

Liberty (40-2), which won titles in 2018, 2021 and 2022, has been lights-out all season, including during a sweep of Bullard in the regional championship round. Now the Panthers have a chance at redemption after falling to Corpus Christi Calallen in the title game a year ago.

Check out the full state tournament schedule.

Follow all our coverage at houstonchronicle.com/highschoolsports.

 

Jon Poorman, High School Sports Editor jpoorman@houstonchronicle.com

 

 

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Top stories

Photo by: Karen Warren, Staff Photographer

Six Houston-area baseball teams will compete for state tournament spots.

Lake Creek, Magnolia West, Pearland, Cy-Fair, Bridgeland and Tomball remain alive in the UIL playoffs as the regional championship round gets underway later this week.

 

Photo by: Karen Warren/Staff Photographer Pearland baseball receives standout pitching performance in Game 3 victory. Pearland pitcher Nico Partida tossed 6⅓ innings and struck out 11 to lead the Oilers past Memorial in Game 3 of a regional semifinal series.

 

Photo by: Dennis Silva II Cy-Fair baseball sweeps Clear Springs for first regional final berth since 2018. Cy-Fair only got two hits, but made the most of them and took advantage of some miscues to sweep Clear Springs and reach its first Region III-6A final since 2018.

 

Photo by: Karen Warren/Staff Photographer Lake Creek baseball holds off scrappy Friendswood to reach regional final. Lake Creek will take on Magnolia West in a Region III-5A championship series rematch with a trip to the state tournament on the line.

 

Photo by: Marcus Gutierrez Staff Photo Magnolia West baseball took care of business with a sweep against Santa Fe. Magnolia West, the defending Class 5A state champion, is back in the regional championship round after sweeping Santa Fe last week.

 

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Shout out

Arrighetti showing progress

Astros pitcher and Cinco Ranch alum Spencer Arrighetti is showing signs of maturity, according to manager Joe Espada. Arrighetti struggled to curb big innings after initially being called up, but Saturday's start against the A's provided evidence of improvement.

 

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Stat of the day

4: National ranking for the Tomball baseball team, which has its highest win total (37-3) since claiming the Class 4A state championship in 2013.

 

 

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