The first round of the Texas UIL softball playoffs finished on Thursday as the smaller divisions crowned champions, but no one had a better day than All-American pitcher Samantha Show.

The senior headed to Texas A&M was named the Texas Gatorade State Player of the Year in the morning and then in the afternoon she went out and struck out eight to help East Bernard beat Hallettsville for the Class 3A state title.

The Brahmarettes exploded for five runs in the fourth inning highlighted by an RBI triple from junior third baseman Kelbi Fortenberry, who will play with Show at Texas A&M. Fortenberry also had an RBI double in the sixth inning when East Bernard tacked three more on to seal the win, which put the team’s record at 37-2.

It was the second state title for the school; the first was a Class 2A championship in 2008.

Show pitched a complete game for the win but also was a threat at the plate. After drawing two walks early—Hallettsville knew she was a threat after she hit her 22^nd home run of the year in the semi’s and pitched around her—the star senior came up in the fourth inning with a 1-0 lead and two runners on.

Show promptly singled down the right field line for an RBI and, although she got caught in a rundown between first and second, was able to scramble back to first while the third run for the Brahmarettes crossed the plate.

Fortenberry followed with her triple and scored on an Alyssa Reyes RBI single, one of two she had on the day.

“You flip a coin there,” Halletsville coach Mike Mikeska told the Houston Chronicle. “I mean, we walk her, we face Kelbi and Kelbi’s been hitting the ball hard. She would have been up with the bases loaded. Give (Show) credit—she did a good job.”

Show added a sixth inning sacrifice bunt to officially go 1-for-1, but it was her pitching that earned her the Finals MVP. Her eight K’s – including the final two batters she faced – gave her 26 for the tournament.

“This is very surreal, I never thought this would happen to me or this team, “Show told the Sean Shapiro, correspondent for the Austin American-Statesman

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*** In the Class 2A final freshman third baseman Bethan Nevlud went 2-for-2 with a solo home run to lead Shiner to a 3-0 championship win over Harleton. It was the Lady Comanches fifth state title. Nevlud was voted the game’s MVP.

*** The Texas 4A, 5A and 6A softball championships will be played Saturday. The 4A game to start at 10 am CST, the 5A will begin at 1 pm and the 6A contest is slated to kick off at 4 pm. All three games will be webcast on FoxSportsSouthwest.