Dora girls win district title

The Dora Lady Falcons' softball team are district champions for the first time in school history. The Lady Falcons battled with heavily-favored Norwood and Bakersfield to claim the title Thursday at Pride Park in Bakersfield. Dora came into the tournament seeded third and was supposed to play Couch in the first round. However, the Lady Indians withdrew from the tournament and Dora advanced to the second round against a disciplined Norwood squad - three-time district champs - who were seeded second in the tourney.

Norwood struck first with a run in the first inning. The Lady Falcons had plenty of opportunities, as they left a runner stranded on third in each of the first four innings, twice with no outs.

The 1-0 score held up until Dora center-fielder Kelsi Land tied the game in the fifth inning with a solo home run.

The game went into extra innings, but Dora's Jordan Smith ignited the crowd with a two-out, two-strike home run to give Dora the 2-1 win.

Meanwhile, tournament-host Bakersfield, who was seeded first and had gotten a bye in the first round, took care of Koshkonong in the semifinals, 5-3.

Lady Lions ace Emma French got the win against the Lady Blue Jays, as French gave up only two hits with all three of Koshkonong's runs being unearned. Kody Smith swung a big bat, pounding a double and scoring twice for Bakersfield.

In the championship game between Bakersfield and Dora, the Lady Falcons struck first after Kelsi Land reached on an infield hit and Jordan Smith homered, giving Dora a 2-0 lead.

The Lady Lions answered with two runs of their own, and the score remained tied until the fourth inning, when Dora used a double steal to score two runs after an errant throw to third by the Lady Lions. Bakersfield added another run late in the game, but was unable to get enough offense to overcome the deficit.

Dora coach Joshua Strong was very pleased with his team's grit. "What a game!  What a team!  We had to play two tough games," Strong said. "We had to overcome a lot of adversity, but tonight, I am so proud of our girls and our school and our fans! It is amazing to get to bring a softball district championship home to Dora!"

Dora will travel to Naylor at 4:30 p.m. Wednesday (Oct. 12) for the opening round of the state tournament.

Bakersfield coach Doyne Byrd said he was proud of his girls and the great season they had. "We had a great season, finishing with an 18-4 record," Byrd said. "But Dora did what they needed to do to beat us. I am very proud of our seniors and what they have

been part of. Emma French, McKayla Durham, Kandi Foster, Audrey Bonham and

Jazz Lally have all been big parts of making this a strong program and we

will miss them and their leadership.

Dora's season mark is 17-6.

<p>The Dora Lady Falcons won their first ever district softball
title, beating Bakersfield in the championship game, 4-3.</p>