Hailey Golden, Pearland beat Guyer in 6A UIL State Softball Championship comeback

Golden (Texas A&M) and Gutierrez (Sam Houston State) powered Pearland to a 4-2 victory over Denton Guyer in 6A UIL state softball championship

AUSTIN, Texas — With the bases loaded and her team trailing 2-0, right fielder Darian DeLeon stepped into the batter’s box for Pearland.

After falling behind early in the count, she fouled off three pitches from Denton Guyer freshman pitcher Finley Montgomery and worked her way to a full count. On the ninth pitch of the at-bat, DeLeon drew a walk to cut the Wildcats’ early lead in half and bring the Oilers’ leadoff hitter to the plate.

Up stepped Pearland’s senior center fielder Hailey Golden — a Texas A&M Aggies signee — who took a first-pitch strike and then squared up the second pitch of her at-bat, slapping a hard-hit RBI single into right field that tied the game and kept the bases loaded with no outs for Pearland.

The Oilers took a 3-2 advantage on a sac fly by left fielder Kaylee Schweitzer in the next at-bat. Pearland’s three-run rally during the bottom of the second inning sparked a comeback Saturday afternoon in the Class 6A UIL Softball State Championship game highlighted by two of the Oilers’ senior standouts: Golden and pitcher Abigail Gutierrez, a Sam Houston State commit.

Together, Golden and Gutierrez led the charge for the Oilers at the plate and in the circle, as Pearland rallied from an early deficit to beat Denton Guyer 4-2 in the 6A UIL state title game at Red & Charline McCombs Field at the University of Texas.

The win marks Pearland’s first Class 6A Texas high school softball state championship since 2010 and represents the Oilers’ third state title in program history.

Golden was voted MVP of the state championship game after finishing 3-for-4 hitting with two RBI and three putouts defensively. Gutierrez, meanwhile, earned the win in the circle for Pearland after throwing for six strikeouts with five hits allowed, two walks and one earned run allowed through 7.0 innings pitched.

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The loss ended Denton Guyer’s (38-2) season after the Wildcats advanced to the 6A UIL state title game for the first time in their program’s history.

Guyer started the year on a 35-game winning streak and reached the UIL Softball State Tournament for the first time since 2010.

Pearland (41-3), meanwhile, finished its 2023 campaign with a perfect 11-0 postseason record and a 21-game winning streak with its victory in the state title game.

The Oilers captured their first Texas high school softball state championship since 2010 and their third Class 6A state title in program history, tying Deer Park (3) for the second most softball state championships in UIL history.

Check out SBLive’s exclusive photo gallery from the Class 6A UIL softball state title game.

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PHOTO GALLERY — PEARLAND 4, DENTON GUYER 2

All photos by Andrew McCulloch

Photo by Andrew McCulloch

Photo by Andrew McCulloch