BY BRIAN GOSSET
X – @gosset41
X – @gmsportsmedia1
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AUSTIN – Melissa scored three runs in the top of the sixth inning to break a scoreless tie and then held off a late rally in the seventh to defeat Mont Belvieu Barbers Hill 4-2 in the UIL Class 5A Division 1 state championship game on Friday night at McCombs Field from the University of Texas.
The Cardinals go back-to-back after winning the 5A title (their first title) last season, 8-0 over Harlingen South. They end the season with a stellar 38-1 record and have won 76 of their past 80 games.
“All year, everybody is going to play their best game against us. So many people doubted us and hated us and that just fueled our fire. We just worked harder and focused on us,” Melissa coach Cassie Crabtree said.
Holding onto a 4-0 lead into the bottom of the seventh, Barbers Hill (35-4) put the pressure on starting pitcher Eloisa Maes (2027). On the second pitch of the inning, Maes hit Hailey Nutter and then Aybrie Corona singled on the first pitch of her at-bat to put two on. Maes then issued a four-pitch walk to Izzy Lawrence and the Eagles had the bases loaded with no body out.
A sac fly to center got one run across to make it 4-1 with one out. Barbers Hill loaded the bases again when JosLynn Cooper reached on a fielder’s choice. Zoey Hood came to bat representing the game-winning run – instead she drew the RBI walk to get the Eagles within two and with the bases still loaded.
But Maes dug deep and struck out back-to-back batters.
“I told them before they got there that this was going to be the toughest inning you’ve had. The last three outs are the toughest. I told them you have to fight and I told them this morning we’re never going to raise the white flag,” Crabtree said.
“That’s where my faith pays off. I know how much work I’ve put in. It’s like everything paid off with all the work I’ve done and my team has done all season,” Maes added.
Maes was voted state champ MVP with two runs on two hits, three walks and seven strikeouts in seven innings.
“It’s so great and I’m so thankful I was recognized for this award. I’ve worked so hard and my team has worked so hard, I thank them for backing me up,” Maes said.
Added Crabtree, “So many people counted out in the beginning of the year and Eloisa just grinded and she fought and battled and trusted me every day. She would run through a brick wall for me and I’d run through a brick wall for her. She’s just awesome.”
It was a pitcher’s duel between Maes and Barbers Hill starter Macie Bryant, who both kept it scoreless through five innings.
But Eagles’ head coach Aaron Fuller turned to Nutter, the Kentucky commit, for relief in the sixth, and that’s when Melissa’s bats woke up. With the top of the lineup at bat, Finlee Williams led off with a double that reached the warning track in center.
Florida commit, junior third baseman Kennedy Bradley followed it up with a long double to right center. Williams had to wait on second before tagging up or not and when the ball hit the turf, the sophomore center fielder raced around third and narrowly beat out the tag at home for a 1-0 lead.
Bradley advanced on the throw home and scored on a wild pitch to give Melissa a 2-0 edge.
“When we broke out we said let’s break through. You can’t win a ball game 0-0 so our goal was to get base hit after base hit so we can score and we did exactly that,” Bradley said.
Nutter gave up three consecutive walks to Caigan Crabtree, Lulu Adrian and Izzy Gonzales to load the bases with no body out. Senior Paisley Needham (Grayson College signee) drew the fourth straight walk that brought in Crabtree giving the Cardinals a 3-0 advantage. Nutter was able to stop the damage with three straight outs.
With the lead, Maes gave up a lead off walk, but got out of the sixth with her fourth and fifth strikeout of the night along with a fielder’s choice at second.
Melissa added another insurance run in the top of the seventh off the bat of Crabtree. The Texas signed shortstop drove a two-out home run to deep left for her 20th bomb of the season – extending the Cardinals’ national home run record to 122 this spring.
“It felt incredible. It’s so surreal for it to be last home run,” Caigan Crabtree said.
“I kind of teared up a little on that home run. The scouting report said that she’s a sucker for the change up and right before she went up I told her hey, how about we take a change up out and we go yard, and she did,” Cassie Crabtree added. “I definitely teared up a bit – that’s the last time I’ll shake her hand rounding third, but it’s definitely the best feeling.”
Crabtree hit her third home run in back-to-back title games at McCombs Field, where she will spend her next four years. Crabtree hit two homers vs Harlingen South last season to win MVP honors. She wraps up her high school career with a school record 62 home runs.
Crabtree and Bradley are the only two players in the Dallas-Fort Worth area to record 20 home runs in multiple seasons. Crabtree had 21 and Bradley had 20 in 2024. Bradley finished this season with 24 home runs – a DFW record for a single season.
Melissa broke the national home run record in Game 1 against Midlothian during the regional semifinals. Gonzales and Needham went back-to-back for home runs No. 105 and 106 – breaking the previous mark set in 2022 by North DeSoto, LA. The Cardinals set a state record in 2024 with 92 home runs with Adrian leading all DFW players with 22 bombs as a freshman.
