Bullard holds a 9-2 lead before going on to a 12-4 win over Aubrey on Saturday in Grand Saline to advance to the state softball tournament for the first time. 

GRAND SALINE — From season-ending injuries and medical conditions to losing loved ones, the Bullard Lady Panthers have been through it all.

Through everything, family has been a common theme.

On Saturday, that family made sure their time on the softball field together wasn’t going to be complete just yet. The Lady Panthers pounded out 20 hits on the way to a 12-4 win over Aubrey in Game 3 of a Class 4A Region II final softball series to advance to the state tournament for the first time in program history.

“I’m so proud of the way they competed today,” Bullard head softball coach Julie Murry said. “I’m so proud for them. They truly have battled through some adversity throughout the last two years, and for this to come to fruition today is just a dream come true. I’m so proud for them.

“They’ve seen the toughest things that you can see off of the softball field, and they’ve had to go through so much, and I’m just proud to see it made them stronger. And I’m so proud to see our community support them the way they have. It means the world to me.”

It’s the second time Murry has led a team to state as she was the head coach at Henderson in 2012. That Henderson team also earned its state berth at Grand Saline. One of Murry’s assistant coaches on that team was Kenneth Malone, who passed away on Dec. 11, 2020.

On Aug. 14, 2019, Megan Dobrinksi, who was the Bullard head softball coach at the time, passed away after a battle with cancer.

“There’s no words that can explain this,” senior shortstop Gabby Nichols said. “The feeling that I know Coach D is looking down on us right now, there’s no words.”

In November, senior pitcher Ariel Matula, who had been a force inside the circle for the Lady Panthers since her freshman year, tore her ACL, ending her high school career.

Junior Emma Lambert, who was Bullard’s starting first baseman and the team’s RBI leader a season ago, was diagnosed with a life-altering medical condition, which ended her softball playing days.

On Jan. 14, Holly Fults — mother of Bullard sophomore Hadi Fults — also passed away after a battle with cancer.

On Saturday, playing for all of those people and the entire town of Bullard, the Lady Panthers achieved their ultimate goal.

“I am beyond excited,” senior second baseman Claire Cannon said. “My heart has still not stopped racing. We’ve worked hard for this, and we deserve this 100 percent.”

The Lady Panthers took Game 1, 6-5 in eight innings, and the Lady Chaps evened the series with a 4-3 win on Friday night.

In the decisive third game, each team scored in the first inning, and Bullard held a narrow 3-1 advantage through four innings.

Bullard scored in the top of the first inning as Berlyn Grossman walked and stole second and third before Nichols laid down a bunt to drive her in.

Aubrey scored in the first inning in every game of the series and continued that in the bottom half of the inning as Kaelyn Cash came through with an RBI single to score Emma Spears. Aubrey loaded the bases, but Josie Taylor grounded into a fielder’s choice back to pitcher Anistyn Foster, and then Foster struck out Kate Fetters to end the threat.

Aubrey only got one hit — a single by freshman Brynlie Dunkin — during the next three innings, and Bullard added two more runs in that span.

In the second inning, Kenzie King reached on a two-out error, and Kylie Pate, who was 4-for-5 out of the No. 9 spot, singled to keep the inning alive. Grossman then singled to give the Lady Panthers a 2-1 lead.

It was Pate’s third multi-hit game of the season. She was 4-for-4 on April 17 against Kilgore and had two hits in the series opener on Wednesday.

“I felt like I needed to step up and drive in some runs, so I just stepped and had confidence and hit the ball,” Pate said.

The Lady Panthers scored again in the fourth as Kaylee Paul reached on a fielder’s choice to score King, who reached on a single.

In the fifth inning, Bullard sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs on seven hits to stretch its lead to 9-1. Aubrey, which had been to the state tournament three previous times (2002, 2004, 2007), came right back with three runs in the bottom half of the inning.

Addison Hooker, Hadi Fults and Cannon started the fifth inning off with three straight hits, and Cannon’s was a double that scored both Hooker and Fults. Aubrey’s Lauren Trott retired the next two batters before Pate had an RBI single and Grossman followed with an RBI double.

Dunkin then relieved Trott in the circle. Paul had an RBI single, and Nichols delivered an RBI double to extend the score to 9-1.

Aubrey didn’t go away. Bree Jones led off the bottom of the fifth with a solo home run to left from the ninth spot in the order. After Foster struck out Trott, Spears singled and Dunkin walked. Cash came through with an RBI single, and Abby Hammett drove in a run on a fielder’s choice to cut the score to 9-4.

Bullard tacked on a run in the sixth with an RBI single by Grossman and two more in the seventh with a two-run single from King.

Foster got Spears and Dunkin to fly out to start the bottom of the seventh before striking out Cash to end the game and the series.

“What was really going through my mind honestly was just saying a prayer,” Foster said. “I was just talking to God, because the circle is a quiet place for me to spend time with him. I was taking it one pitch at a time like we kept saying, and I kept trusting my defense.”

Foster, a freshman, allowed four runs on seven hits with eight strikeouts and two walks in the complete game.

King and Grossman each had three hits for Bullard (32-5). Paul, Nichols, Hooker and Cannon all added two hits as the Lady Panthers ended the game with 20 hits.

Trott pitched 4.2 innings and allowed eight runs on 12 hits with two strikeouts and two walks. Dunkin allowed four runs — three earned — on eight hits with one strikeout and one walk in 2.1 innings.

Cash and Spears had two hits each for Aubrey (22-9), and Cash drove in two runs.

Bullard will play at either 4 or 7 p.m. Thursday in the Class 4A semifinals at the University of Texas at Austin’s Red & Charline McCombs Field. The other three teams in the 4A bracket are Iowa Park, Liberty and Corpus Christi Calallen.

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