Matt Vines
The Red River softball team had work to do to put itself back in the playoff picture, and the Lady Bulldogs got to work in a big way.

Red River (11-8) has won seven of its last eight games to vault 10 spots to No. 17 in the Division III Non-Select power rankings.

What looked like a fight to even get in the playoffs now has the Lady Bulldogs thinking about a home playoff game.

The crux of Red River’s success came in a 4-0 performance in its home tournament.

The Lady Bulldogs beat Lakeview (16-1 score), Castor (7-6), Dodson (9-3) and Mansfield (3-0).

Perhaps most importantly, Red River leaned on its pitching to win three of those four games.

The Lady Bulldogs scored at least 10 runs in their first eight wins this season, but they pulled out three tournament wins in games in which they averaged just more than six runs per game.

That’ll make Red River a bigger threat in the playoffs.

Other results this past week include a sweep of Plain Dealing (14-0, 10-3) and a 12-1 loss to powerhouse Many.

Many and Winnfield will tussle for the district title this week.

Red River is scheduled to play eight games over the final two weeks of the regular season with Monday’s home doubleheader against Pleasant Hill kicking off that stretch.

Red River baseball looks for rebound this week
The Red River baseball team is looking for a rebound this week after a tough 1-3 slate this past week.

The Bulldogs (8-12) slid out of the playoff picture to No. 27 in the Division III Non-Select rankings as they attempt to vault back into the top 24 with roughly two weeks left in the regular season.

Red River heads to Pleasant Hill on Monday before a two-game series against Many (18-6).

The Bulldogs host the No. 8 Tigers on Tuesday and make the trip to Sabine Parish on Thursday.

Red River fell to 2-2 in District 3-2A play with a 4-3 loss on Wednesday in a makeup game from earlier in the season.

Red River is the only thing standing in between Many and a district title as the Tigers are 6-0 in league play.

Other results from this past week include a 10-7 win against Calvin, a 16-6 loss to North Webster and a 10-7 loss to Quitman.