Humble Kingwood scores early to beat Forney in Texas UIL 6A DII state softball title game: live scoring, recap

Sophomore Hunter Quentel earns MVP honors with bat, arm for Lady Mustangs

Anley Hewitt and Forney will play for the Class 6A Division II finals on Saturday in Austin against Humble Kingwood. / Wayne Grubbs

Humble Kingwood (33-4-1) vs. Forney (34-2-1)

Forney is in the state finals for the third time in school history and will look to be the first team to win a Class 6A Division II title in UIL history.

Meanwhile, Humble Kingwood is hoping to win state title No. 1. This is the first time Kingwood has been in the finals since a 3-2 loss to Lewisville in 2013.

In Division II, Kingwood has been one of the state’s hottest teams down the stretch. The Lady Mustangs have won 10 in a row since a regular season loss to Humble Summer Creek and are unbeaten in the playoffs. Their pitching staff has allowed just 14 runs in nine playoff games, and their offense has produced plenty to advance.

Forney, the 2018 Class 5A state champion, brings one of the most complete resumes in the field. The Lady Jackrabbits have outscored opponents 366-69 this year and showed plenty of grit in their semifinal series against Denton Guyer. After dropping Game 1, they got clutch homers from Ryann Harris and Cailey Slade to win the next two and punch their ticket to the final.

First pitch is schedule for 1 p.m. Saturday at McCombs Field in Austin. You can watch the game (subscription fee required) on NFHS Network.

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About Kingwood

Playoff record: 9-0

Key players: Hunter Quentel (P/UTIL) .462 / 17-3; Mia Gagliardi (C/3B, sr.) .442; Addyson Sheppard (SS/UTIL, sr.) .459; Lyndsie Gilman (P, jr.) 5-0; Leilani Garcia (2B/SS, sr.) .451; Hunter Quentel (P/UTIL, soph.) .462; Samantha Trezecki (DH/C, fr.) .317; Kendall Yates (1B/P) .316 / 2-1; Frei Pizarro (P/3B, jr.) .286 / 9-0.

About Forney

Playoff record: 8-1

Key players: Cailey Slade (P/1B, sr.) .479 / 17-0; Emmit Santos (P/OF, soph.) .333 / 17-2; Eva Daniels (SS/2B, sr.) .462; Emma Boren (2B/SS, sr.) .409; Ryann Harris (C/3B, fr.) .388; Domiana English (3B/LF, soph.) .397; Ashlyn Oscar (1B/UTIL, sr.) .429; Maddy Dickey (CF/SS, sr.) .389; Juliana Tamburine (LF/2B, soph.) .388.

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Follow High School on SI - Texas for complete coverage of the UIL Texas high school softball state championships, including scores, highlights, and player updates throughout the weekend.

In the meantime, check out our Class 1A-3A previews, as well as previews for 4A, 5A and 6A state championships.

You can also check out other state championship game results from Thursday's games for Class 2A Division I, Class 2A Division II, Class 3A Division I, and Class 3A Division II, or read up on Coahoma making history.

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Live scoring will go here once the game begins.

Forney goes to bat first in top of 1st. Game started about 15 minutes later than planned

Hunter Quentel works around a leadoff double. Going to the bottom of the 1st

Leilani Garcia with a double for Kingwood but she gets stranded at 3rd.

After 1, 0-0

In B2, Kingwood has runners on 1st and 3rd with 0 outs

Frei Pizarro with RBI single and it's 1-0. She was 4-for-24 in the postseason coming into her 1st at-bat in the finals

After 2, Kingwood 1, Forney 0

Mia Gagliardi doubled home a run to make it 2-0. Quentel followed with a 2-run HR. 4-0 now in favor of Kingwood

Forney goes to the pen after the HR. Cailey Slade now pitching for the Jackrabbits

After 3, Kingwood 4, Forney 0

After 4, Kingwood 4, Forney 0

After 5, Kingwood 4, Forney 0

Forney's defense turns a double play in bottom of the 6th

After 6, Kingwood 4, Forney 0

3 outs to go for Kingwood to claim a state title

Ryann Harris with a double; Domiana English singled to center field to put runners on the corners

Ashlyn Oscars with a sac fly; Harris scored to make it 4-1; 1 out of the inning

Anley Hewitt, with a .393 average, is pinch hitting now for Forney

FINAL: Kingwood 4, Forney 1 - First state title for the Lady Mustangs

Hunter Quentel is the MVP. 1-for-3 with 2-run HR; on the mound, struck out 7 in 7 innings and giving up 4 hits

RECAP

Hunter Quentel had no problem against a high-powered Forney offense.

The sophomore struck out 7 and allowed only four hits in a 4-1 win against Forney in the second game on Saturday.

She had little trouble with the Jackrabbits' offense, which was scoring nearly 10 runs per game. Two of the four hits she allowed came in the 7th when Forney scored twice.

After giving up a sac fly to Ashly Oscars, a strikeout and fly ball ended it to give Kingwood its first state 

The Lady Mustangs scored all of their runs in the first three innings.

Third baseman Frei Pizarro drove in a run in the bottom of the second to break the scoreless game. She had struggled with the bat in the postseason — 4 for 24 — but her RBI single to left brought home Samantha Trzecki, who led off with a single.

The third inning provided the final runs for the Lady Mustangs.

Quentel had the biggest hit, a two-run homer to make it 4-0. 

Before that, second baseman Leilani Garcia doubled and Mia Gagliardi doubled to bring Garcia home.

Quentel gave up a walk to open the fifth inning, but then her defense turned a double play to erase the runner and she faced the minimum.

Gagliardi had another double in the fifth but was left stranded at third — after stealing a base. She and Garcia both had two hits, part of an 8-hit attack by the Lady Mustangs.

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