Marble Falls softball goes 0-2 to start own tourney
CAPTION: Marble Falls sophomore Callie Phillips safely slides into third base after hitting a triple against Little River Academy. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School softball team lost to Little River Academy 10-8 and Saginaw 9-7 on the first day of its Hill Country Takeover tournament Feb. 19.
Both were decided in what turned out to be the final inning.
Academy led 8-2 when sophomore Callie Phillips led off the bottom of the fourth inning with a triple and went home on a RBI single by senior Cheyenne Thompson. Though Marble Falls loaded the bases, the Lady Mustangs wouldn’t score any more runs.
The Bumblebees got the run back. After loading the bases, the batter was walked for a RBI. Then pitcher Phillips struck out the next batter and started a double play to freshman catcher Abigail Suarez, who then threw to first for the final out of the inning.
Junior Jocelyn Suarez led off with an infield single on a bunt and went home when Phillips hit another RBI triple. Thompson followed that with a sacrifice flyball for the RBI to trim the deficit 9-5.
Marble Falls freshman Hannah Graham hit a RBI triple to right field and scored when the catcher dropped the throw from the third baseman. Jocelyn Suarez recorded a RBI when she sent a ball to left field that fell just inside the fair line. Phillips reached on a walk to load the bases with no outs.
The next batter hit into a triple play that began when the right fielder barely caught the ball about a foot before it hit the ground then threw to the infield to get outs at first and second. The Lady Mustangs, unaware of the catch, were too far from their bases to recover in time.
“It was a very bad break,” head coach Alex Lozoya said. “I’ve never seen a triple play or anything like that at the end of the game, but hey, it happened to us. We were overeager on the bases, thinking it was going to drop. Kudos to their right fielder for making a great play and to their team for staying composed and getting all the extra bases to get outs.”
Academy built its lead in the first 3 innings before Lozoya chose to make a pitching change.
“They were seeing the ball well,” he said. “Their lineup was coming through the third, maybe the fourth time around. Every day we play to win. And I felt that would have given us a chance. If it ended up being that they were going to put the ball in play, they were a hot team. But Callie came in, did a good job in relief, and gave us a chance to come back.”
He called leaving the bases loaded twice missed opportunities “to score more,” adding the Lady Mustangs struck out twice looking and couldn’t get past the infield on hits during those innings.
“Another growing experience, another growing moment for our kids,” the coach said. “They need to understand you don’t always have to wait till the end to make it, to win it or lose it.”
Marble Falls led Saginaw 5-0 after the first inning and added a run in the second inning. The Rough Riders scored two in the third and the Lady Mustangs added a run in the bottom half the same inning for a 7-2 advantage before Saginaw scored seven consecutive runs for the 9-7 victory. The Rough Riders committed two errors.
As he thought back to the Academy contest, Lozoya noted it could have been easy to quit, and his players didn’t.
“We gave ourselves a chance, we chipped away,” Lozoya said. “I’m very proud of them for doing that when it was 8-1.”
Marble Falls has three games left in this tournament. First is Killeen Chaparral at 1:30 p.m. and Bastrop at 7:30 p.m., both on Friday, Feb. 20, and Fischer Canyon Lake at 1:30 p.m. Saturday, February. 21.
