By Jack Walker

Staff Writer

The Lady Panthers traveled to Pilot Point over the weekend to compete in the Pilot Point Varsity Softball Tournament and had a very good trip indeed. Van Alstyne won all five of its games in the event and came home with the championship.

Hunter Offill was named Most Valuable Player for the event.

Van Alstyne 2, Paradise 1

Last year the Lady Panthers blanked Paradise 8-0 in the Pilot Point tournament but this year it took a late rally for Van Alstyne to come away with a 2-1 win in the Thursday opener.

Hunter Offill was sailing along with an eight strikeout, three and one-third inning no-hitter before Paradise scored a run in the top of the fourth on a pair of singles and a walk. Offill finished with thirteen strikeouts and gave up just those two hits in the contest.

Van Alstyne came right back with a tying run in the bottom of the fourth. Cassie Deaver reached on a well placed bunt hit, stole second and eventually scored on Paradise errors.

Offill gave up a lead off walk in the fifth, then fanned the next three batters to leave the Paradise runner stranded at third.

With two outs in the bottom of the inning, Chelsea Colunga hit a single to left field, moved up on a stolen base then came in to score the winning run when Rachel Moya's hard hit ball to the right side was misplayed by the Paradise infield.

VA 8, Garland Naaman Forest 1

The Lady Panther offense came alive in Thursday's second game as they scored six runs in the third inning on their way to an 8-1 win over the Lady Rangers.

Sam Case led off the second inning with a walk, followed by a Chandler Henson single. Henson moved up on successive errors by Garland and after Case was thrown out at the plate, Henson scored on an RBI hit by Bailey Offill. Offill scored after she was moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Hunter and came home on a Lady Ranger error.

The first six batters for Van Alstyne reached in the third inning as the Lady Panthers broke it open. Meagan Gibson walked as did Keely Rettmeier. Gibson scored on an error and Rettmeier came home on a bunt hit by Olivia Wilkins. Cassie Deaver was hit by a pitch and Sam Case stroked a triple to clear the bases. Case scored on a wild pitch and after Hunter Offill reached on another Garland error, Audrey Burts smacked a double that scored Offill for the final Van Alstyne run.

With Friday's action rained out, the Lady Panthers would advance to bracket play in a win or go home format.

Van Alstyne 5, Tom Bean 0

The Lady Panthers made the most out of just three hits in the opening game of bracket play and rode the pitching arm of Hunter Offill to a 5-0 win over Tom Bean. Offill fanned nine in the five-inning game.

Bailey Offill drove in Chandler Henson with a second inning double and later scored on a sacrifice bunt by Hunter.

Van Alstyne scored three runs in the third on singles by Lexie McMakin and Henson plus two Lady Cat errors.

Van Alstyne 8, Naaman Forest 3

In a rematch of a Thursday pool game, Van Alstyne again beat Garland Naaman Forest, this time by an 8-3 count. The Lady Panthers scored three runs in the first inning on just one hit, a Bailey Offill single. Two walks and a pair of Garland errors aided the cause. Naaman Forest got on the board in the second as Taylor Rhoades homered. Van Alstyne answered by scoring two runs in the third and they added three in the fourth.

Two Garland errors got the first VA run in the fourth as Sam Case scored when Lexie McMakin put down a bunt that the Lady Rangers totally misplayed. McMakin scored ahead of Bailey Offill who homered to lock up the win.

VA 6, Pilot Point 1 CHAMPIONS

The Lady Panthers exploded for four runs in the bottom of the third inning en route to a 6-1 win over Pilot Point in the championship game of the tournament.

Shelby Downs opened the third inning with a single and a Sam Case single sent Downs to third. Cassie Deaver got an infield hit that loaded the bases and Chandler Henson brought home three with a triple. Henson scored on a Pilot Point error to give VA an early 4-0 lead.

The Lady Panthers added a couple insurance runs in the fifth inning as Deaver got a one-out single, which was followed by a single by Henson. Bailey Offill's sac bunt moved Deaver and Henson up a base and a double by Hunter Offill scored both.

Pilot Point added a run in the sixth but that was it for the host team as Van Alstyne comes home with the hardware.