No pleasantries on this one since time is of the essense. Celina is the visiting team. Needville is home. Whoever comes out on top wins their first state softball title. Oh, and the scoreboard says it is 93 degrees.

1st inning -- Celina gets two hits but Lindsie Knowles is out trying to stretch for a double and courtesy runner Danielle Lynn is thrown out trying to steal. Needville goes in order. 0-0

2nd inning -- Joey Cronin leads off the inning with a single and gets to second on a bunt by Jasmine San Miguel. Needville goes in order. 0-0

3rd inning -- Celina goes 1-2-3. Needville puts together a two-out walk and infield single before a double steal attempt. The throw to third by Jasmine San Miguel goes off the glove of a covering Joey Cronin and into left field as Shauni Prihoda scores. 1-0 Needville

4th inning -- Kylie Roos was hit by a pitch with one out but nothing materialized. Needville added another two-out run. Shelby Parham led off with a single, stole second and took third on a bunt. Cierra Wieghat hit a ball to short that Shelby Black couldn't scoop cleanly on what would have been a very close play. 2-0 Needville

5th inning -- The Lady Bobcats are running out of outs. Celina went in order and has to score two runs and only six outs are left on the board. Needville put a pair of runners on again -- the third straight inning to do so -- but were unable to score. 2-0 Needville

6th inning -- Shelby Black led off the inning with a single and was sacrificed to second but was stranded there. Needville played small ball in the bottom of the inning for another run. Jenny Stack had a lead-off single, was sacrificed to second and then Cierra Wieghat bunted and beat it out for a single to put runners on the corners. A grounder to third led to the second out and Stack beat the throw home for some insurance. The Lady Bobcats are down to their final three outs. 3-0 Needville.

7th inning -- Well Celina is making it interesting. Jasmine San Miguel blasted a one-out homer to left field to make it a two-run deficit and then Shelby Carter was hit by a pitch, so the tying run is at the plate. A great shoestring catch on a shallow ball in left field by who else, Cierra Wieghat, halted any further Celina runners. Needville wins 3-1

A little follow-up: It was the best finish by the Lady Bobcats in program history, surpassing the state semifinal appearance in 2006 in Class 2A.

Also, as a member of the media covering the game, I was asked to vote on the MVP. I went with Cierra Wieghat for her outstanding defensive plays and the fact that she was 2-for-3 with an RBI and her second hit helped set up the insurance run. My colleagues disagreed and went with pitcher Cally Falls. Nothing against Falls, but the pitcher as MVP in softball is always a default option. You be the judge: Falls final line was seven innings, one run, five hits, no walks but two hit by pitches, three strikeouts. Yes I am bitter.