Strong pitching by Sparkman proved too much for Thompson as the Lady Warriors&8217; season ended Friday at the second round of Class 6A substate play.

The Lady Warriors lost game one, 3-1, and despite a late rally, came up just short in game two, 4-3.

Sparkman&8217;s Jennifer Sexton earned both wins, coming in for relief in the sixth inning of game one and striking out 12 batters in game two.

&8220;The girls prepared all season for this moment. We just couldn&8217;t finish strong,&8221; said Thompson head coach Cara Crosslin. &8220;I hate that two good teams had to meet this early in the playoffs.&8221;

In game one, Sparkman pinch-runner Tiffany Smith scored first in the top of the third on a wild pickoff throw. Thompson&8217;s Meredith Seller would tie the game with a home run in the sixth.

Sparkman scored again in the seventh when Dominique Neville singled and Laura West doubled her home. Ciara Garcia scored the final run on a passed ball.

Keeping it close, Thompson left two stranded after singles by Sam Mitchell and Meri Jones.

In the second game, Sparkman took first blood scoring three runs in the first. Courtney Taylor scored after tagging up on a pop up by Emily Daye and Laura West would double home two after Amber Jones singled and Neville was walked.

Sparkman scored its final run on an Amber Torres single that brought home Smith.

Thompson would fight back though with another home run by Sellers in the sixth and a two-run blast by Heather Miller in the seventh.

&8220;We never gave up. Those home runs told me that my team didn&8217;t quit,&8221; said Crosslin.

Oxford eliminates Shelby County

The Shelby County Lady Wildcats were eliminated by Oxford Saturday in the Class 5A sub-state playoffs.

Shelby County won the first game of the best-of-three series 5-2 but lost the next to games 3-2 and 7-3.

SCHS pitcher Chelsea Dunnaway pitched a complete game win in the first matchup, striking out seven batters while giving up seven hits.

Brooklyn Phillips hit a home run and finished with two hits and two RBIs in the win. The Lady Wildcats&8217; Kassadie Jones took the loss in the second game.

Jones and Cycola Buie both hits home runs in the third game for SCHS