The postseason aspirations for Highland Park’s softball team are still alive.
The Lady Scots entered Friday’s showdown with The Colony needing a win to stay in the hunt and got just that, rallying for two runs in the bottom of the seventh inning for a 2-1 victory.
With the win, HP improves to 6-6 in District 12-5A, which puts the Lady Scots in a tie for fourth with the Lady Cougars entering the final week of the regular season.
“It was a pretty amazing finish,” said Michael Pullen, HP head coach. “I think you could say it raised my blood pressure a bit, but I’ll certainly take it.”
Up next for HP are games at Newman Smith on Tuesday before closing Friday at home against Frisco Reedy. The Colony, meanwhile, closes with games at home against Creekview Tuesday and at Frisco Lone Star Friday.
Smith and Creekview have combined for just two wins in district this season, while Reedy and Lone Star are in second and third place, respectively.
Should HP and The Colony finish in a tie, a one-game playoff for the final postseason berth would be contested likely on Monday, according to Pullen.
As noted, HP desperately needed a win Friday over The Colony to realistically remain alive.
Though things looked bleak entering the final inning, HP showed no quit.
Senior Anna Higgins started the rally by reaching on an error and coming around to score and knot things up at 1-1 following a double to the gap by Avery Adami.
Adami was then thrown out trying to stretch the double to a triple, but HP sparked a new rally when pinch-hitter Visong Kwon drew a hit-by-pitch. Cecilia Knutson followed with a single and a walk by Shannon Hart loaded the bases.
Emma Hyde then played the role of hero, knocking in the game-winning run with a single to left field setting up a celebration at the plate.
“It was unbelievable,” Pullen said. “The fans were all going nuts and the girls were going crazy.
“The girls never batted an eye and our captains did a great job before the inning of settling everyone down. They were calm, cool and collected, as they say.”
Pullen added that it was only a matter of time before the Lady Scots finally broke through on the scoreboard.
“You could feel it all night,” he said. “We were hitting the ball hard all night, we just needed some of them to start falling. In the seventh inning, they did for us.”
Knutson earned the win in the circle for HP, going the distance and allowing one unearned run on four hits with eight strikeouts in addition to chipping in a pair of hits at the plate.
It was the second consecutive thriller between the two squads after The Colony picked up a win March 16 in the first meeting, 11-10.
“Just like in life, you have to be able to respond to a tough loss,” Pullen said. “We were ready to go and were able to shake off a close loss to The Colony last time, and now they’re the ones that are going to need to respond. It’s going to be a fun week.”
Highland Park is seeking its first playoff berth since 2023.
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