Seguin rally turned away in district road loss to Canyon
(New Braunfesl) – Seguin rallied back from three runs down to tie up Wednesday’s District 26-5A softball game at New Braunfels-Canyon in the top of the sixth inning, but the Cougarettes responded with three runs in the bottom of the frame to hand the Matadors an 8-5 loss.
The Mats jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the top of the first inning. Ashlie Aguilar led off with a walk, took second on a sacrifice bunt by Camryn Rios, went to third after Vanessa Sanchez was hit by a pitch and Chloe Belicek walked, and came home on a wild pitch. Sanchez scored on Layla Salazar’s RBI groundout.
Seguin starting pitcher Kendall Hurt worked around two hits and a Matador error to keep Canyon scoreless in the first two innings, but the Cougarettes capitalized on a pair of defensive miscues to break through in the third and make it a 2-1 game.
Canyon strung five hits together and took advantage of another error in the fifth to plate four runs and open up a 5-2 lead.
The Matadors scratched together a two-out rally for three runs to tie it up 5-5 in the top of the sixth.
Allie Mize reached on an infield single, Summer Flores on an error, and Aguilar on a walk to lead the bases. Rios walked to drive in Mize, and Vanessa Sanchez smoked a double to score Flores and Aguilar. Canyon pitcher Bella Mitchell induced a pop-up from Belicek for the final out with runners at second and third.
The offensive dry spell between first and the sixth innings was indicative of the inconsistencies Seguin head coach John Garcia hopes to iron out as the team continues to face good pitching in key district games.
“We’re having a hard time executing game plans,” Garcia said. “I think we come outside of ourselves, and we’re just not having the plan that we need when go up to bat, and the focus that we need to execute the things we need to do when we scout these pitchers, and we scout the pitches, and we’re just not executing it right now.”
Madyson Schultze walked Canyon’s eighth and ninth batters Ali Just and Riley Hester to lead off the the bottom of the sixth, and the top of the lineup made Seguin pay with a base hit from Harley Vestal and a three-run double from Kinley Naizer after Kendall Hurt re-entered the game.
Hurt struck out four with one walk in 5-2/3 innings, and only three of the six runs she allowed were earned. The Matadors committed five errors on the day, leading to three unearned runs for the Cougarettes.
Garcia sees a number of things that need to be cleaned up to get Seguin moving back in the right direction as the mid-point of the district schedule approaches.
“It’s little things here and there,” the coach said. “Some dropped balls, walking batters, not paying attention to the defensive calls we’re doing. We’ve got to put ourselves in a position to win before we say we should win. We’re not doing that right now, and if we don’t, the second round is going to be a lot of must-wins, and when you start to put that kind of pressure on yourself, that’s bad stuff.”
Seguin is 2-3 in District 26-5A, 11-8 overall. The Matadors look to bounce back on Thursday with a 2 p.m. home game against Boerne-Champion.
Brashears bomb sparks Panthers in home win over Somerset
(Geronimo) – Tristan Brashears launched a two-run homer in the first inning to set the tone early and the Navarro baseball team used the momentum to notch a 6-2 home win over Somerset on Tuesday.
Brashears finished 2-3 on the night.
Bryce Nall, Landun Taylor, and Colten Tolleson each drove in a run for the Panthers. Nall, Jaxen Monkerud, Taylor, and Tolleson each recorded a hit, with Tolleson and Taylor eaching belting a double.
Caleb Thomas earned the win on the mound. He allowed two runs (one earned) on a single hit with one walk and six strikeouts in 3-2/3 innings. Blaine Pircher and Monkerud kept Somerset scoreless the rest of the way.
Navarro (9-6) continues its spring break schedule on Wednesday with a 1 p.m. home game against Austin-Akins.
Navarro softball rolls in road win over Mustangs
(Nixon) – Navarro pounded out 18 hits and cruised to a 20-7 run-rule win over Nixon-Smiley in Tuesday’s non-district softball game on the Mustangs’ home field.
Sydni Stevens and Laylin Sturm each doubled twice. Strum went 4-5 with four runs scored and two RBIs. Stevens drove in three runs and scored three times.
Kaislyn Tovar collected two hits and three RBIs. Samantha Mundine went 3-4 and drove in two. J.J. Martinez recorded two hits, drove in a pair of runs, and scored twice.
Sarah Howard, Kassidy Bishop, and Berklee Andrews each drove in a run, and Andrews scored three times. Bishop and Howard each hit a triple. Sarah Falor contributed a base hit and two runs scored.
Bishop earned the win in the pitcher’s circle, allowing four runs on three hits with four strikeouts in five innings.
Navarro (15-5) is off the rest of the week and returns to action next Tuesday, March 22 with a 7 p.m. home game against Antonian Prep.
Marion baseball dominates Luling for 11th straight win
(Luling) – Marion is off to a 2-0 start in the District 26-3A baseball race with a perfect 11-0 mark on the season after a commanding 12-1 road win over Luling on Tuesday.
Jake Burris smashed a home run to finish 2-3 with four RBIs on the afternoon. Ryken Autry went 2-3, scored twice, and drove in a run.
Bryce Gonyer and Ty Blake each hit a double and drove in a run, and Gonyer scored twice. Zach Halter doubled, drove in two, and scored once.
Konner Harborth notched the win on the mound, allowing a single unearned run on six hits with seven strikeouts in five innings.
The Bulldogs (11-0, 2-0) are idle the rest of the week and host La Vernia in a non-district game next Tuesday, March 22, at 7 p.m. Marion resumes district play next Friday the 25th in Stockdale.