The Temple College Leopard softball team defeated North Central Texas College 7-3 to advance to the championship game tomorrow at Weatherford College. Temple took an early lead scoring two in the top of the second. Daisy Gonzalez led off the second with a double followed by a MacKenzie Purcell walk. Lenzi Stewart bunted them into scoring position and Maddie Weatherly smashed a two RBI double to get Temple on the board. The Leopards got into trouble in the bottom of the fifth when NCTC's Brooke Mason hit a bases loaded double for NCTC to take the lead 3-2. The Leopards didn't stay down long. Gonzalez got the offense started again with a walk and Purcell and Stewart followed with singles to load the bases. After a pitching change, Weatherly stepped back up to the plate and launched a no-doubt grand slam to take a 6-3 lead. The Leopards scored one more run in the seventh for the 7-3 final score. Breanna Hernandez got the win throwing five innings for the Leopards. Taylor Gruell came in and closed the final two innings for the scave. Weatherly was 2 for 4 on the day with six RBIs.
The Leopards will face the winner of the noon game tomorrow (NCTC or Weatherford) at 2:30 p.m. for the championship.
For more information or to see the bracket you can visit the region website by clicking here. The tournament will be livestreamed on TSRNSports.com. Hit the "watch" button or click on the scoreboard.