Khadijdra Fails winds up to release a pitch during the first inning of Southside’s game with Selma Tuesday at the Selma Softball Complex. Fail struck out nine Lady Saints in an 8-6 Southside win on Senior Night. -- Chris Wasson

For the second time in as many weeks, Selma and Southside High School faced one another on Senior Night.

In that first meeting, Selma’s last home game, the two teams tied at 17 before rain discontinued the game.

Tonight, in their last home game of the year, Southside would not be denied, defeating the Lady Saints 8-6.

“This game is kind of redeeming for us from last week,” Lady Panthers head coach April O’neal said. “They are our rivals, so we are going to fight as hard as we can in this game.”

The contest was close from the start. Neither team was able to pull away from the other.

Trailing 3-1 in the bottom of the third inning the Lady Panthers looked like they would pull away with five runs, with the help of some walks by the Selma starter. But the Lady Saints would score three more in the top of the fifth to pull the game within one.

“We had that one bad inning,” O’neal said. “After that inning, we did a good job of not letting anything else happen. Khadijdra Fails did a great job for us pitching tonight. She had 9 strikeouts and when you can get that many from a pitcher in one game, you will be pretty well off.”

O’neal had praise for her six seniors, who played their last home game in the Lady Panther uniform.

“These we the girls that were here when we started this thing back three years ago,” O’neal said. “They have worked so hard for me and have been able to keep up with me. I have a lot of energy and they stayed with me. I’m just so proud of how these girls.

“I love them and I’ll miss them. They have just been great.”