Burnet softball beats Marble Falls
CAPTION: Burnet junior Hannah Brooks records one of 15 hits against Marble Falls. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Burnet High School softball team defeated Marble Falls 8-1 April 10 in District 24-4A play.
With the win, the Lady Dawgs have their first sweep in district play.
Headed into the contest, each team was aware of the implications a victory could bring. Both head coaches noted that earning a win was an opportunity to stay in the playoff hunt.
“Just be disciplined and go play the game that they know and love,” Burnet head coach Jayci Craig recalled telling her players before the start. “They know how to play. They have to be consistent not to put too much pressure on themselves.”
The Lady Dawgs scored two in the first inning thanks to a RBI single from senior Peyton Allen and exploded for five in the second where they sent at least 10 batters to the plate.
Allen and junior Lacie Lewis each hit an RBI single, senior Kendall Winkley had a 2 RBI double, and junior Hannah Brooks hit a RBI double.
“It was big for us,” Craig said. “When we can go up there and get through our lineup, that builds confidence for each player that comes up to hit. And that in itself speaks volumes, what it does for games like this, big games that we need.”
Allen, Winkley and Brooks led Burnet with 2 RBI each and Lewis had 1 RBI. Senior Journey Denton and Brooks each had 3 hits followed by Allen, Winkley, junior Abby Bennight and freshman Aubree Kincheloe had 2 hits apiece, and Lewis had 1.
In all, the Lady Dawgs had 15 hits, while the Lady Mustangs had five.
“When you’re working with teenage girls, sometimes you have to remind them not to get laxed, but other than that, they knew what they were supposed to be doing,” Craig said. “And like I said, we’ve been working really, really hard this season on being disciplined, and I think they did a good job of showing that they were disciplined, even when we went up on offense and didn’t score. We knew we couldn’t let them score.”
Marble Falls’ only run came in the fifth inning thanks to a RBI single by sophomore Callie Phillips.
Juniors Khloe Hollingsworth, Rylee Frisch and Kaylie Holden, freshman Emma Martin and Phillips each had a hit.
Burnet senior pitcher Carlee Williams allowed one earned run off five hits and two walks and had four strikeouts.
CAPTION: Junior Khloe Hollingsworth records one of the five hits for the Lady Mustangs. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
Marble Falls sophomore pitcher Brooklynn Damico allowed seven earned runs off 10 hits and a walk with a strikeout in two innings. Phillips allowed one earned run off five hits and two strikeouts.
“I’m very proud of the way Brooklynn started the game,” head coach Alex Lozoya said. “Unfortunately, the stat lines going to look like it was all on her and it wasn’t. They got the lead-off batter on in three of those four (scoreless innings). Then we came back and got the outs and no damage, no nothing. So it’s not like they can’t do it. I just have to find a way to get ourselves ready to say ‘hey we can do this.’ Because I really believe this group is physically talented enough to get there, I believe they have the emotional and mental capability to go compete and be tough about it. We just have to take this experience and find a way to find something that benefits and find something positive and carry it. I don’t want it to come off like the kids are not mentally capable. We (mentally) got (to Burnet to play). We just got here too late to play.”
Though the contest didn’t go the way Marble Falls wanted, Lozoya noted the Lady Mustangs allowed only one more run, in the fourth inning, and kept Burnet from scoring again.
“Look at the scoreboard,” he said. “You had three good donut holes. The biggest thing is the effort you showed after the first 2 innings on pitching and defense. I have to do a better job as the head coach of this program to see how we can transfer the good that we do in practice on offense and defense and with pitching to a game. If it’s a mental issue, a pressure issue, then that’s something to work on in the offseason to find some way to realize the talent is there.”
He noted the offseason work includes each Lady Mustang developing a short memory and quickly forgetting about a strikeout or an error and committing to not letting one bad moment turn into a series of setbacks that determine a game’s outcome.
“Nobody’s going to give anything to us,” Lozoya said. “But we have to stay positive, composed, that ‘hey, this is it. It can be all or nothing’ approach to be like ‘all right, it didn’t work out. So what? Next pitch, next person’s up.’ And that’s the homework that I have to do to get ourselves ready for next season.”
CAPTION: Burnet junior shortstop Abby Bennight steps into her throw for the out at first. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
Marble Falls finishes the regular season against Jarrell while Burnet travels to Taylor both on Tuesday, April 14, with the junior varsities playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity to follow at 7 p.m.
“The goal is to win the last game,” Lozoya said. “We don’t want to finish last (in the district standings). There’s always something to play for. And that’s the goal is to see if we can get Jarrell at home. We know what they’re going to do, we know who they’re going to pitch, we know what they do offensively. We’re going to have to find a way to have good advance runners on.”
Burnet finishes the regular season by welcoming Lampasas Friday, April 17, with the junior varsity playing at 5 p.m. and the varsity to follow at 7 p.m. Between the two games, the program will honor its seniors and their families.
Craig noted the regular season finale is big.
“If we continue to win, we are setting ourselves up for a potential opportunity to go to playoffs, depending on how everybody else is doing in the district,” Craig said. “So this is a big win and it sets us up with some confidence to go finish the season strong, which is awesome.”
CAPTION: After fielding the ball, junior outfielder Rylee Frisch looks to the infield to make a throw. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
