WESSON – The Wesson Lady Cobras are enjoying their historic 2013 Cinderella season. They blanked the Taylorsville Lady Tartars 3-0 in Game 3 of a best-of-three series Monday night in the Class 2A State softball playoffs.

In earlier action, the Lady Tartars kept their season alive in the Game 2 and forced an decisive do-or-die matchup with a 2-1 victory.

“Glad to get the win,” said Wesson coach Jackie Johnson. “My girls did a great job battling hard in both games. Abbey Smith had a solid pitching performance.

“Overall, I am extremely proud of the girls,” stated Johnson. “They kept fighting hard and managed to get the timely hits we needed to get the win.”

Wesson was victorious in Saturday’s meeting beating the Lady Tartars 4-3 in a Game One triumph in Taylorsville.

The Lady Cobras (21-5) have advanced to their first-ever Class 2A South State championship appearance and play the winner of the Enterprise-Clark and Clarkdale series. Game days are set for Saturday and Monday, but location and times have not been decided.

The Lady Tartars, coached by Mike Robertson, concludes their season with a 24-5 worksheet.

Taylorsville 2, Wesson 1

The Lady Cobras came out strong in Game Two and seized a 1-0 lead in the first inning.

Wesson relied on their tough defense through out the reminder of the contest as Taylorsville threatened in several innings to tie or claim the lead.

In the top of the fifth, the Lady Tartars managed to end their scoreless drought as they tied the game at 1-all.

Taylorsville captured a 2-1 lead in the top of the seventh inning and held off Wesson in the bottom of the seventh to force Game 3.

Kaci Bryant was the winning pitcher for the Lady Tartars with two strikeouts and no walks.

Abbey Smith suffered the setback for the Lady Cobras with no strikeouts, one walk and one hit batter.

Catcher Brianna McMillan and first baseman Anna Kennedy were the offensive leaders for Taylorsville with a double and a single apiece. Magen Stringer and Cassidy LaBlanc hit safely.

Senior catcher Macie McQuage and right fielder Hailey Chassion directed the Lady Cobras offense with a double each. Hitting safely were Kayla Britt, Abbey Smith and Hanna Brown.

“The girls played hard,” said Coach Robertson. “Both teams battled in a tough series. Overall, I was very please with my girls. They did a great job bouncing back to force a game three contest.

“Wesson has a great ball club and a good pitcher,” continued Robertson. “I wish them the best of luck through the rest of the playoffs.”

Wesson 3, Taylorsville 0

The Lady Cobras managed to get their offense clicking in the bottom of the third inning as they took advantage of Taylorsville’s pitcher change to grab a 2-0 lead with Brown’s big 2-RBI double.

Wesson’s defense came to life by feeding of the offensive excitement and the Lady Cobras shut down the Lady Tartars’ attempts to rally.

In the bottom of the sixth, Wesson added an insurance run and increased their lead to 3-0.

Abbey Smith tossed the win for the Lady Cobras with one strikeout and one walk, allowing 4 hits.

Laura Stringer came in and pitched one inning in relief before absorbing the loss for the Lady Tartars. Stringer had two strikeouts and one walk. Bryant (0K, 1BB) started and returned after the third inning.

McQuage sparked Wesson’s offense with a double and a single. Ashton Newman and Brown fueled the flames with a double apiece. Abbey Smith and Taylor Smith hit safely.

The Lady Tartars got singles from Camry Griffith, Kaylee DeLapaz, LaBlanc, and Bryant.