(Geronimo) – Navarro locked up the District 27-4A softball championship and top playoff seed with a 7-3 home win over Cuero on Thursday, and followed with an 11-4 win over Gonzales to wrap up the regular season on Friday.
The Panthers head into the UIL playoffs with a 20-7 record after going 5-1 in district play.
Laylin Sturm launched a solo home run to the scoreboard beyond the center field fence to put Navarro on top 1-0 in the bottom of the first inning, but Cuero took advantage of two errors to plate three runs and go in front by two in the top of the second.
The Panthers tightened up defensively and played error-free softball the rest of the way to help Samantha Wegman close the game with five scoreless innings. Wegman finished with six strikeouts in the complete-game win.
The bats came to life with a combined six runs on eight hits in the fourth and fifth.
“I think they just kind of had a realization of how important this game was,” Navarro head coach Elizabeth Guerra said. “We had a little huddle, our pitcher talked to them, Coach (Darrel) Harborth and Coach (Bernice) Voigt talked to them, and we kind of just said get hungry, and they came out and got really loud and chaotic in the dugout, and I think that energy spills over onto the field. They’re really close as a team, so when one person usually gets pumped up, everyone else follows, so I think that’s really what started it.”
In addition to a stellar performance in the pitcher’s circle, Wegman went 2-3 at the plate and drove in three runs.
Samantha Mundine went 3-4 with an RBI double and run scored. Melina Tabares and Sarah Howard each drove in a run.
Berklee Andrews went 2-3. Kaislynn Tovar tripled, Sydni Stevens doubled, and they each scored once. Sarah Falor recorded a base hit and scored twice.
All nine Panthers in the batting order reached base, with eight connecting for at least one hit.
“It was really exciting,” Guerra said. “We were going over the book, and I asked who all’s gotten on, and Coach Voigt was like ‘everyone’s gotten on,’ so it’s really nice as a team, as individuals, across the board, it’s really satisfying to see in a book and on the field.”
The Panthers trailed Gonzales 4-2 after three innings on Friday, but scored nine runs over the final four frames.
Stevens hit two home runs and finished with four RBIs. Wegman went 3-4 and drove in three. She also pitched a four-hitter and struck out three to log the win in the circle, and the four runs she allowed were unearned.
Falor, Reagan Herrera, Sturm, and Tovar each doubled. Herrera, Sturm, and Mundine each recorded two hits, and Sturm drove in a run.
Navarro meets Wimberley in the bi-district playoffs next week. The details had yet to be finalized at press time.
Navarro baseball cruises to road win over Gonzales
(Gonzales) – Navarro baseball only needed five innings to complete the head-to-head series sweep of Gonzales with a 13-0 road win on Friday in District 27-4A.
Jaxen Monkerud and Kaden Monkerud each hit home runs. Kaden went 2-3, scored three times, and drove in four. Jaxen delivered two RBIs and scored once.
Will Boswell went 3-4 with four RBIs. Tristan Brashears collected two hits and drove in two runs. Colton Tolleson drove in a run. He and Bryce Gonyer each had a base hit and two runs scored. Jacob Frederick went 2-3 with a double and three runs scored. Marco Moncada went 2-4.
Nall struck out six and scattered five hits in five scoreless innings to earn the win on the mound.
The win moves Navarro to 3-1 in District 27-4A, 17-9 overall. The Panthers finish the regular season next week with a pair of games against La Vernia. The teams square off in Geronimo on Tuesday, in La Vernia on Friday, and both games start at 7 p.m.