BY BRIAN GOSSET
X – @gosset41
X – @gmsportsmedia1
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Freshman pitcher Bella Flores shined in her state semifinal debut with three hits allowed and 10 strikeouts to lead Flower Mound past Waco Midway 5-2 during Game 1 of their Class 6A D1 semifinal series on Thursday at Midlothian.
Flower Mound (27-8-2) looks to close it out in Game 2 at 2:30 pm Friday at Midlothian. Another win for the Jaguars will send them to their first softball state champ game in program history – next Saturday May 31 in Austin.
Flores only allowed one walk and faced 25 batters. She took down a Midway team that finished as 6A state runner-up in 2024. Flores retired the first nine batters before Midway scored in the bottom of the fourth inning.
But the Jaguars had a two out rally in the third when Nahla Hurst started it with an infield single. Olivia Rains and Adi Bicknell followed with singles to load the bases and Daphne Galason drilled a pitch to deep right center that cleared the bases and gave Flower Mound a 3-0 lead.
Midway’s Jayden Sadler blasted a two-run home run in the fourth to cut the lead to 3-2. But Flower Mound added two runs in the sixth which included an RBI single by Avery Brock. Flores retired the final eight batters faced.
