Shiner St. Paul captures TAPPS 1A/2A state softball title
Saturday, May 14, 2016
by Evan Dunbar, Special to the Advocate
VictoriaAdvocate.com | State Semi-Final Game | St. Paul Lady Cardinal Softball | St. Paul Cardinal Sports Home Page
SWEENY - It didn't take long for things to start spiraling out of control Saturday for Shiner St. Paul in the TAPPS 1A/2A softball state championship game.
Shiner St. Paul poses for a photo after capturing the TAPPS 1A/2A state softball title on Saturday, May 14, 2016.
[ NOTE: click on any photo to enlarge ]all photos by David Inouye
Holding a commanding 9-3 lead over Lake Jackson Brazosport Christian, the Lady Cardinals could not find the strike zone, as pitcher Parker Clay gave up a single, two walks and hit two batters to allow two runs to score.
With the bases loaded and one out, Shiner coach Lance Giese decided to bring in Sadie Morgan, who pitched 42/3 innings earlier in the game.
"We've always preached all year to throw strikes and we just couldn't find the strike zone for a bit there," Giese said.
Morgan entered to face Madison Starr, who laced a fastball deep to the left-center field gap that seemed destined to clear the bases.
But left fielder Grace Irvin came out of nowhere and made the play of the tournament, extending her arm on a full sprint to first bobble, then catching the ball to record the second out.
In all of the confusion, Irvin threw the ball back in to the infield and the Lady Cardinals were able to double off Abbigail Sargent at first base to win the game, 9-6, and capture the 11th state title in school history.
"I was like, 'I cannot let another run score,'" Morgan said. "But Grace making that catch, that was a great, great catch and I have so much faith in her and in my team.
"I was really confused, because there was a runner coming all the way from third base back to first, and I was like, 'Well that's an out, because she ran out of the baseline.' It was crazy, but I'll take it."
The base running blunder was one of many miscues in the game by the Lady Eagles, who committed five errors and had four runners thrown out on the base paths.
BCS coach Jimmy McLeod said he was disappointed with the final result, but was proud of how his team fought back to make things interesting in the final inning.
"We had one inning that really hurt us on errors, but my hat's off to Shiner, they're a great team," McLeod said. "But you know what I'm proud of? We never quit. What everyone takes away from this game more than anything else is that we didn't quit.
"We could have quit when we were down 9-3, and we we're probably 1 foot away from it being 9-8, because that girl made a great catch. That ball is one foot on the other side and its a 9-8, maybe 9-9 ball game."
BCS (24-11) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the top of the first on an RBI double by Sargent, but the Lady Cardinals (14-6) came right back in the bottom half to take a 2-1 lead thanks to two BCS errors and a two-run triple by Clay.
The Lady Cardinals tacked on four runs on two hits in the third and two runs on three hits in the fourth to increase their lead to 8-1. They were aided by three BCS errors in the two frames.
Giese said scoring early on BCS pitcher Catherine Patterson was a big confidence booster for his team.
"They scored one in the first inning, and then we came back with two and we had a good third and fourth inning I think, which was huge," he said. "I've just got great kids. I really just can't say enough about my kids. They just compete.
"We've preached all year, 'Strikes and errors kill you.' We had some timely hits in there and we were able to score some runs on her. (Patterson) threw something like 100 pitches (Friday) so we wanted to wear her down."
Though her final line in the circle didn't reflect it, Patterson pitched well in a complete-game outing.
The sophomore allowed nine runs on seven hits, but only three of the runs were earned. She walked one and recorded eight strikeouts. At the plate, she was 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and two RBIs.
"Catherine has been good in the circle all year. She's done very well and is very poised, McLeod said. "Most of these kids are sophomores and that's the great thing is that they have great futures ahead because they have two years left to play."
But as good as Patterson was at times, the duo from St. Paul was better.
Morgan finished with five innings in the circle, allowing three runs (one earned) on five hits. She walked one and recorded one strikeout.
Clay pitched 12/3 innings in relief, allowing three runs. She walked two, hit two batters and allowed one hit. She also did damage at the plate, finishing 2-for-3 with a double and three RBIs.
Morgan, who finished the game 2-for-3 at the plate with an RBI, said the win will be something she cherishes with her teammates for the rest of her life.
"It's the best feeling in the world," she said. "I am so excited for what we have coming up and to continue on with this team."
TAPPS 2A STATE CHAMPIONSHIP Shiner St. Paul 9, Lake Jackson Brazosport Christian 6 123 456 7 R H E LJBC 100 020 3 -- 7 4 4 SSP 204 201 x -- 9 7 3 W: Sadie Morgan. L: Cat Patterson. Highlights: (LJBC) Patterson 6 IP, 9 R, 4 ER, 8 K, BB, 2-3, R, 2 RBI; Abbie Sargent 2-3, 2 RBI; Makayla Scott 1-3, R. (SSP) Morgan 42/3 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, K, BB, 2-4, RBI; Parker Clay 21/3 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, K, 3 BB, 2-4, R, 2B, 3B, 3 RBI; Riley Johnson 1-4, 2 R; Grace Irvin 1-2, 4 R, RBI; Delynn Pesek 1-3, R, RBI; Ashlyn Patek 0-3, RBI; Irena Fikac R. Records: LJBC: 24-11; SSP 14-6. St. Paul wins state championship.
|
|
|
| The Shiner St. Paul Lady Cardinals celebrate as they close out the win over Lake Jackson Brazosport Christian to capture the TAPPS 1A/2A state softball title on Saturday, May 14, 2016. | Shiner St. Paul's Ashlyn Patek, bottom, slides safely back into first base, narrowly avoiding the tag of Lake Jackson Brazosport Christian first baseman Makayla Scott, right, during the third inning. | Shiner St. Paul's Sadie Morgan winds up for a pitch against Lake Jackson Brazosport Christian in the TAPPS 1A/2A state softball title game on Saturday, May 14, 2016 in Sweeny. |
|
|
|
| Shiner St. Paul's Ashlyn Patek drives the ball against the Lake Jackson Brazosport Christian during the TAPPS state title game on Saturday on Saturday, May 14, 2016 in Sweeny. | Shiner St. Paul's Kristin Hodges leads off the sixth inning for the Lady Cardinals against Lake Jackson Brazosport Christian in the TAPPS state title game on Saturday, May 14, 2016 in Sweeny. | Shiner St. Paul's Gracie Irvin, right, steals second base as Lake Jackson Brazosport Christian's Trinity Oliver dives for the errant throw during the fourth inning of the TAPPS state title game on Saturday, May 14, 2016 in Sweeny. |
© Copyright
BaerCom - Shiner, Texas 2016
