Marble Falls softball loses to Salado
CAPTION: Freshman Hannah Graham was one of two Lady Mustangs to record a hit against Salado. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School softball team lost Salado 11-0 March 13 in a contest that ended in five innings.
The Lady Eagles (15-7-1, 4-0), who scored nine runs in the first inning, had 10 hits and the Lady Mustangs recorded seven errors.
“(The Lady Eagles) find ways to put the ball in play,” Marble Falls head coach Alex Lozoya said. “They run hard, they run aggressive, and they just continue to put pressure on you. And I think that’s something you have to have. You got to compete with every pitch to grind it out and see where you get. They’ve put it on everybody in this district so far.”
Freshman pitcher Avery Dunlap had eight strikeouts in two innings while junior Aubree Zammat allowed two hits and had three strikeouts in two innings.
The Marble Falls hits came from senior Cheyenne Thompson and freshman Hannah Graham.
“When the Salado reliever came in, our kids did a good job of putting the ball in play, but we couldn’t generate the runs we needed to keep the game going,” Lozoya said. “Salado is just a very good program right now.”
He noted the Lady Mustangs allowed only two more runs in the next three innings.
“The kids proved they could perform well,” the coach said. “We just have to prove we can perform when the pressure’s on. I truly believe that we have good pieces on this team. And we just have to be consistent in working together. Early in the game, we had a good opportunity to compete defensively against a very good team. And we just didn’t have a hot start; dropped balls that allowed extra pitches hurt us. And it led to a nine-spot in the first inning.”
He pointed out that in other games, well hit balls find their way through gaps and result in base hits. But not in this game.
“There’s nothing to take a way from Salado,” he said. “They came in and put the ball in play. The pitcher they started threw really well. Our kids competed well.”
Marble Falls now turns its attention to spring break games against Burnet at its Scearce Softball Field Tuesday, March 17, and at Jarrell Wednesday, March 18. The varsity will play at 3 p.m.
“We have eight games left,” Lozoya said. “You can’t take any innings off. I like the pieces we have, the kids work hard. But the routine (plays) need to be routine. If we can keep the routine routine, I’m not saying the ending may be in our favor, but the game just ends up being different.”
CAPTION: The other Lady Mustang who had a hit against Salado was senior Cheyenne Thompson. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
