Marble Falls softball beats Chaparral
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior Jocelyn Suarez, a three-year letterman, is one of several Lady Mustangs with a trait that should serve the program well. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School softball team played Killeen Chaparral during a scrimmage Feb. 4 where the Lady Mustangs scored 9 runs and allowed 2 in no more than five innings of work.
Chaparral scored both runs in the first inning then didn’t do much after that. Head coach Alex Lozoya pointed to many reasons for the result.
Sophomore Callie Phillips started at pitcher with junior Jocelyn Suarez at catcher, a trend that began a year ago. The two work well together as illustrated by how the junior spoke with the pitcher during their time in the circle and behind the plate against the Lady Bobcats.
Phillips finished with four strikeouts in three innings.
“(Phillips) was excited, very excited,” Lozoya said. “But she settled in. Jocelyn did a great job. The couple that Chaparral got in the first, they really didn’t get much after that. She’s doing a good job of staying composed and pounding the strike zone and then working from the inside out to give herself a chance.”
Meanwhile, when the Lady Bobcats did put the ball in play, Marble Falls made just about every routine out, the coach said. One of the most consistent was freshman second baseman Maddie King to go with senior third baseman Cheyenne Thompson, who is entering her third year starting at the hot corner.
“We had a lot of routine plays,” the coach said. “Cheyenne Thompson kept it routine at third. When I got home, I told my wife that I was very happy with how efficient we were. We had back-to-back three-up, three-down innings.”
Second base was one of the question marks entering the 2026 season after Kylie Roberts, a four-year letterman, graduated. One reason Roberts was a strong contributor was because her ability to play in different positions and come through at the plate.
Lozoya indicated the program has more versatility in its athletes with the addition of the class of 2029.
“Having more kids flexible at various positions,” he said. “I have outfielders who can play as infielders, I have infielders who can play in the outfield and catchers who can pitch and vice versa.”
Phillips and Suarez exemplify that along with sophomore Brooklynn Damico, who can pitch and go to the infield.
That’s why Lozoya is optimistic about this season. After all, his Lady Mustangs were within two runs of forcing a play-in game to get into the playoffs a year ago.
“If we can find a way to keep trending in the right way and stay consistent,” he said. “Playing catch will keep you in a lot of games. Playing catch will give you a chance to win a lot of games.”
Marble Falls welcomes Llano Saturday, Feb. 7, with the varsity taking the field at 10 a.m. and the junior varsity to follow around 11:45 a.m.
