Recap of Saturday’s Houston Regional Softball Final

Houston High School Regional Final Round softball playoff recaps and scores from Saturday’s games:

Region III
Liberty 12, Bullard 3
Liberty wins series 2-0 and advances to state tournament
Liberty is headed to the UIL state tournament for the fourth straight season after defeating Bullard in the second game.

The Panthers (40-2) racked up 16 hits and scored 10 runs over the final three innings to put the series away.

Abbie Key led the charge at the plate for Liberty, going 4 for 5 with a home run and five RBIs. Hollie Thomas was 3-for-5 with two RBIs, and Bayleigh Taylor was 2-for-2 with a triple, a home run and three RBIs.

Brookelyn Taylor picked up the win in the circle, allowing one hit and one earned run in 6⅔ innings. She had nine strikeouts.

Liberty will face Canton (32-8) in the Class 4A state semifinals Thursday at 7 p.m. at McCombs Field at the University of Texas at Austin. The Panthers won state titles in 2021 and 2022 and lost to Corpus Christi Calallen in the championship game last year.

Region IV
Hallettsville 7, Columbus 2
Hallettsville wins series 2-0 and advances to state tournament
Columbus reached the end of the road with a Game 2 loss to a Hallettsville team that has won 28 straight games.

The Cardinals (25-10) had won 14 straight games heading into the series against their District 25-3A rival.

Hallettsville (40-2) is headed to the state tournament for the fifth time since 2009. The program’s last appearance came in 2022, when it won the Class 3A championship. The Brahmas also qualified in 2019, 2015 and 2009.

Region III
Katy vs. Kingwood
Game 1: Kingwood 6, Katy 3
Game 2: Kingwood 7, Katy 6
Kingwood wins series 2-0 and advances to state tournament

Region III
Lake Creek vs. Belton Lake
Game 1: Lake Belton 5, Lake Creek 4
Game 2: Lake Belton 2, Lake Creek 1
Lake Belton wins series 2-1 and advances to state tournament

Region III
Liberty versus Bullard
Match 1: Liberty 2, Bullard 1
Match 2: Liberty 12, Bullard 3
Liberty wins series 2-0 and advances to state tournament

Region IV
Needville vs. Calallen
Single-game playoffs
Calallen 4, Needville 1
Calallen advances to state tournament

Region IV
Columbus vs. Hallettsville
Game 1: Hallettsville 6, Columbus 1
Game 2: Hallettsville 7, Columbus 2
Hallettsville wins series 2-0 and advances to state tournament