Varsity softball came from behind to beat Cypress Creek in a dominant Game 3 to advance to round two of the state championship. The Cardinals got home field advantage for Game 1 on April 24 and quickly got up on the scoreboard 1-0.

Junior and catcher Lauren Magid scored the only run for the Cardinals. She hit a home run in the bottom of the second inning at her first at-bat.

“When I hit that ball, I knew it would be over the fence,” Magid said. “I was hoping that it would start some momentum, but that’s not the way it worked out.”

Senior Bella Rivera started pitching in Game 1 and pitched through the fifth inning.

“The team struggled with hitting big time,” Rivera said. “We couldn’t adjust to the pitcher’s rise ball and so we kept getting under everything and popping up.”

Cypress Creek scored three runs in the fifth inning. Game 1 ended with a Bellaire loss of 3-1.

The Lady Cardinals played Game 2 at Cypress Creek on April 25 with Game 3 scheduled for 20 minutes after the end of Game 2.

Game 2 was a must-win for the Cardinals.

Rivera built momentum from the start, hitting a home run on the second pitch of the game.

“We turned on our offense,” Rivera said. “Another thing that made us fight and push through these games was knowing the possibility of this being our last.”

The Cardinals were up 2-0 at the middle of the third inning, but Cypress Creek quickly gained ground, leading 5-2 by the end of the inning.

“One of the major things we had to adjust was our approach at the plate,” Magrid said. “We had to continue to play hard and prove we wanted to win more than the other team.”

The Cardinals finished game two strong, including a six run seventh inning to end the game 14-7.

Bella Rivera pitched game three with Cypress Creek finishing the end of the second inning ahead 5-2.

“There were a couple innings where Cy-Creek started winning off our errors,” Rivera said. “We made sure to shake it off and get ready for the next play.”

Senior and center fielder Meaghan Lande had a game-saving catch at the end of the seventh inning with a runner on third base to take the game into an extra inning tied 6-6.

“Any hit they got would result in them winning because they were the home team,” Lande said. “The ball was hit deep, so I drop stepped really far back to catch it. It was an exciting moment and everyone was hyped to know we weren’t done yet.”

The Cardinals came out on top to finish Game 3 with a 9-6 victory. They will play Fulshear High School in round 2 on Thursday at Crawford High School at 6:30 p.m.