Canton softball seniors Ellie Cox, Mykah Mebane, Amrie Clower, Katrina Morphis, Payton Bray, Grace Thompson and Jaycee Bullard (Brandon Ogden/Tyler Morning Telegraph)

Canton’s senior class had lost in the third round of the high school softball playoffs as sophomores and juniors.

They didn’t want that to happen again.

And with a sweep of Lindale (9-1, 9-1) in the Class 4A Region II quarterfinals, the Eaglettes advanced to the regional semifinals for the first time in program history.

They didn’t stop, there, though.

Canton then swept Van Alstyne (10-0, 6-3) in the regional semifinals and then powered past 2023 state semifinalist Aubrey (11-4, 14-1) to advance to the UIL State Softball Tournament for the first time in program history.

“It’s extremely exciting,” senior Amrie Clower said. “This is what we’ve been talking about since last year. I couldn’t be more proud of the group of girls that we have. I just hope we can go out and finish this thing.”

Clower is one of seven seniors on the Eaglettes’ roster. Joining Clower are Jaycee Bullard, Katrina Morphis, Payton Bray, Grace Thompson, Mykah Mebane and Ellie Cox.

“It’s crazy exciting,” Thompson said. “It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It’s crazy because I just graduated, and I’m still playing with my best friends.”

“It really is special because we’ve all grown up together,” Bray said. “We’ve played together since we were little. It just makes it sweeter that we’re all seniors.”

That closeness is what the seniors said has played a big role in the team’s success.

“Our bond,” Mebane said. “We don’t fight and don’t get into arguments really. We’re just all really close. We’re like a big family.

“Since half of the team is seniors, we’ve been playing with each other, a lot of us our whole life, so the fact that we get to go and show how close we are and how good we are together on a big field is awesome.”

That big field will be Red & Charline McCombs Field on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin — home of the UIL State Softball Tournament — where the Eaglettes (32-8) will face Liberty (40-2) in the Class 4A semifinals at 7 p.m. Thursday.

“It’s very exciting,” Cox said. “We’ve worked very hard for this.”

“It’s so exciting,” Morphis said. “We’ve been working so hard this year and every year to reach this.”

Bullard, the team’s starting pitcher who is 19-4 in the circle, was overcome with excitement when her team recorded the final out in the regional finals to clinch the program’s first state berth.

“My heart is really pounding,” Bullard said. “It feels good. I was in shock. I’m still in shock.

“We’re a team, and we’re really close. We’re all friends, family and sister. It’s very special, making history.”

The winner of Thursday’s semifinal will advance to the Class 4A championship game at 10 a.m. Saturday to face either Sanger or Corpus Christi Calallen.

But no matter what happens in Austin, this group of Eaglettes have already made history.

“We have seven seniors. The legacy they are leaving whenever they leave is something that I’ll remember forever,” Canton head softball coach Russell Smith said. “You see the crowd and you see all of the smiles right now, and I think that just speaks volumes for who they are, not just the seniors, but all 14 girls are awesome kids, and they deserve every single second of recognition and celebrating they’re getting. I’m so happy they are getting it.

“We have seven seniors who have been a part of this program for four years, for them get to experience this, to end their career at UT is special.”