Berwick upsets North Webster 5-3

The Berwick Lady Panthers upset North Webster 5-3 on the road Friday in Class 3A first-round playoff action.
No. 18 Berwick (15-13) never trailed No. 15 North Webster as Berwick led 4-1 after an inning and 5-2 after two complete innings.
North Webster added single runs in the fifth and sixth innings but could get no closer.
“The game was like the scouting reports that I got,” Berwick Coach Joe Russo said. “The top of their order was really tough to pitch to. Their pitcher was a good little pitcher. She hit spots well. That game … went down to literally to the last pitch. It was a hard-fought game both ways.”
In the bottom of the seventh, Berwick successfully shut down the top of North Webster’s lineup, Russo said. Those batters, Russo said, had produced during the game.
The win was Berwick’s first postseason victory since 2013 when Berwick defeated Jewel Sumner in the first round before falling to Crowley in round 2.
Berwick will continue postseason play Tuesday when it hosts No. 2 seed and District 8-3A foe North Vermilion at 4 p.m. North Vermilion advanced to round two after defeating No. 31 Loranger 12-0 in five innings in other Class 3A first-round action on Thursday.
In Friday’s victory, Bronwyn Colbert earned the win. In seven innings, she surrendered three earned runs on six hits with two strikeouts.
Russo said Colbert had a solid game and her defense performed well to back her up.
Offensively, Alyssa Gray led Berwick with a 3-for-4 performance with a run. Other top Berwick offensive contributors were Maddie Carline, 1-for-4 with two RBIs and a run; Anna Vaccarella, 2-for-3, a run; and Ashlynn Fitter, 1-for-4, an RBI and a run.
The Lady Panthers made the trip in two days, staying in Bossier City Thursday evening before making the last, leg of the trip Friday to Springhill. The park literally was on the Arkansas border.
Russo said the trip was beneficial to break up in two days.
“You can’t ever be 100-percent, but I can tell you there was no way we could have made that (trip) in one day,” Russo said. “That wouldn’t have happened, so breaking it up those two days, and our thought process was to stay in Bossier City and we could treat it like a game played at Pelican Park (in Carencro). That would be about the trip we would travel to play at Pelican Park, so that’s basically what we did.”