ARLINGTON — The dream of back-to-back state championships for the Plano John Paul II softball team ended with an 11-8 loss to San Antonio Antonian Prep in the TAPPS Division I championship game Tuesday at UT-Arlington’s Allan Saxe Field.

The game’s conclusion was halted by a five-hour, 10-minute weather delay in the bottom of the sixth inning with John Paul trailing 11-4. When the game re-started, it was a more relaxed Cardinal team that outscored Antonian 4-0 in the final inning and a half. It wasn’t enough to win the game but was a pleasing sight for John Paul II coach Jayme Baker-Nelson.

“Their energy, the way they fought, is contagious,’’ said Baker-Nelson. “We got a little bit of a reset during the delay. We relaxed and played loose. We were tight 100% early in the game.’’

John Paul II (26-10-1), bidding for its fourth title in the last six years, graduated five seniors from last year’s state championship roster. All four Cardinals on the all-tournament team were underclassmen: junior catcher Bridget Mulligan, junior shortstop Dani Maloney, sophomore third baseman Maddy Campbell and sophomore pitcher Kayla Paige Walters.

After the delay, Maloney connected on a three-run homer over the center field fence and Mulligan followed with a double and eventually scored the final run on Katy Holman fielder’s choice.

Much earlier in the day, John Paul II trailed 5-0 going into the bottom of the fourth and rallied for four runs to close the gap to 5-4.

The Cardinals capitalized on a three Antonian errors and base hits by Campbell, Maloney and pinch hitter Jayden Anderson. Campbell had three hits, including a double to lead the attack and started two double plays.

But that comeback was negated when Antonian scored five to go up 10-4 in the top of the fifth, keyed by a pair of two-run homers by winning pitcher Analica Guerrero and pinch hitter Emmie Villanueva.

Antonian patiently turned walks into runs in the first three innings. Isabella Garza, who went 4 for 4 from the No. 2 spot in Lady Apaches’ batting order, had RBI hits in the first and third innings to help build the lead.

Second baseman Alejandra Santoyo contributed a pair of doubles and scored two runs for Antonian.

Argyle Liberty Christian placed MaKenzie Byler and Paige Childers on the all-tournament team.