Lady Eagles fall short in state title game

AUSTIN — The No. 2 Como-Pickton Lady Eagles made their first state tournament appearance since 1999 this week. They would defeat the Stamford Lady Bulldogs 7-1 in the semifinals. But would fall just short in the championship game, losing 4-3 to the Weimar Lady Wildcats on a walk-off RBI single.

STATE SEMIFINALS

The Lady Bulldogs would step up to the plate first, where they faced Mattison Buster in the circle. The game would begin with a ground out and a strikeout. Following a single, another ground out would end the Lady Bulldogs’ turn.

The Lady Eagles came to the plate next. Two runners were quickly gained when Bella Romero walked and Gracie Thompson hit a single. On the next atbat, Buster would hit an RBI single, driving Romero home and giving the Lady Eagles a 1-0 lead. Buster was then substituted by Sanay Diaz at first base.

Addi Monk would ground into a fielder’s choice next, where Thompson was tagged out at home plate. After Saylor Smith reached base on an error, another out occurred when Sarah Corley grounded into a fielder’s choice, where Diaz was tagged out at home plate.

On the next at-bat, Paisley Watkins reached base on an error, and both Monk and Smith managed to score, extending the Lady Eagles’ lead to 3-0. The first inning would come to an end when Judah Van Rijn hit a fly ball for an out.

The second inning would begin with the Lady Bulldogs hitting a single. This was followed by a pair of strikeouts and a ground out, ending their turn.

The bottom of the second inning started with Maggie Brown being walked. After Romero hit a pop fly ball for an out, Thompson would hit a single. Unfortunately, two more outs followed when Buster grounded out and Brown was called out for failing to tag up before advancing to third base, ending the second inning.

The third inning began with a strikeout. Following a single from the Lady Bulldogs, a strikeout and pop out brought their turn to an end.

The bottom of the third inning began with Monk hitting a fly ball for an out. Though a runner would be gained when Smith reached base on an error, Corley would pop out into a double play, bringing the third inning to a close.

The fourth inning would start off with a fly out. After the Lady Bulldogs gained a runner on a single, a strikeout and fly out would end their turn.

The bottom of the fourth inning would see the Lady Eagles immediately gain two runners when Watkins hit a single and Van Rijn hit a double. On the next at-bat, Brown would hit an RBI single, driving Watkins home and increasing the Lady Eagles’ lead to 4-0.

After Lauren Lewellen substituted Van Rijn at third base, she would score on a passed ball, raising the score to 5-0. After Romero struck out, the Lady Eagles scored again when Brown scored on a passed ball, extending their lead to 6-0.

Though another runner was gained when Thompson walked, two more outs followed when both Buster and Monk grounded out, closing out the fourth inning.

The fifth inning would see the Lady Bulldogs immediately load up the bases following three consecutive singles. The Lady Eagles’ defense would hold strong with three straight fielder’s choice outs, ending the Lady Bulldogs’ turn.

The bottom of the fifth inning started with Smith reaching base on an error. This was followed by Corley grounding into a fielder’s choice, but no outs occurred and Smith was able to score, extending the Lady Eagles’ lead to 7-0.

However, three straight outs followed when Watkins was called out for interference, Van Rijn struck out, and Brown hit a pop fly ball for an out, ending the fifth inning.

The sixth inning kicked off with a double. After a pop out, the Lady Bulldogs gained a runner on an error and scored a run, trimming the score to 7-1. Despite this, a ground out and fly out immediately after brought their turn to an end.

The bottom of the sixth inning began with Romero striking out and Thompson hitting a fly ball for an out. This was followed by Buster reaching base on an error, then being substituted by Cali Morris at first base.

Though another runner was gained when Monk hit a single, the sixth inning ended when Morris was caught stealing third base.

The seventh inning began with consecutive ground outs. Though the Lady Bulldogs kept the game alive with a single on the next at-bat, the game ended when the runner was caught stealing second base, ending the game and allowing the Lady Eagles to cap off a 7-1 victory.

As a team, the Lady Eagles batted 7 for 28 (.250) from the plate. Thompson led the way with two hits, while Brown, Buster, Monk, Van Rijn, and Watkins added one hit each.

Smith would finish as the leading scorer with two runs. Brown, Lewellen, Monk, Romero, and Watkins all scored one run each.

Buster would earn the victory in the circle. Across seven innings, despite allowing nine hits, she struck out six batters and only allowed one run.

STATE CHAMPIONSHIP

For the state championship game, the Lady Eagles stepped up to the plate first. The game would start with Romero hitting a single. After Thompson struck out, Buster would swat an RBI double, bringing Romero home and giving the Lady Eagles a 1-0 lead.

After Buster was substituted by Diaz at second base, another runner was gained when Monk walked. Unfortunately, two more outs followed when Smith struck out and Corley grounded out, ending their turn.

The Lady Wildcats came to the plate next, facing Buster in the circle. They began their turn with a runner reaching base on an error. Following a fly out, an RBI double would tie the score at 1-1. Two consecutive fly outs immediately followed, bringing the first inning to a close.

The second inning started with Watkins hitting a pop fly ball for an out and Van Rijn striking out. Though a runner was gained when Brown reached base on an error, their turn ended when Romero struck out.

The Lady Wildcats were retired in order during the bottom of the second inning following a fly out and a pair of ground outs, leaving the score 1-1.

The third inning kicked off with Thompson striking out. This was followed by Buster hitting a double, then being substituted by Diaz.

After Monk grounded into a fielder's choice, where Diaz was tagged out at home plate, Monk would score on an error, putting the Lady Eagles back in the lead, 2-1. Two runners were then gained when Smith walked and Corley grounded into a fielder’s choice, but no outs occurred.

Watkins would reach base on an error next, and Smith would score, extending the lead to 3-1. Their turn finally ended when Van Rijn grounded out.

The bottom of the third inning started with a pop out. After a single and another pop out, the Lady Wildcats would score again on an RBI double, trimming the score to 3-2. Following an intentional walk, a ground out brought the third inning to an end.

The Lady Eagles went down in order to start the fourth inning after Brown grounded out, Romero struck out, and Thompson grounded out. The Lady Wildcats were subsequently retired in order during the bottom of the fourth inning following three consecutive strikeouts.

The fifth inning began with Buster hitting a single, then being substituted by Diaz. Unfortunately, three straight outs followed when Monk hit a fly ball for an out, Smith hit a sacrifice bunt to move Diaz to second base, and Corley struck out.

The bottom of the fifth inning started with a single. A sacrifice bunt followed, moving the runner to second base. Following a line out and an intentional walk, the bases loaded after a fielder’s choice, where no out occurred.

An error on the next atbat allowed the Lady Wildcats to tie the score to 3-3. In the same sequence, the final out occurred when a runner was tagged out advancing to home plate, ending the fifth inning.

The sixth inning began with Watkins grounding out. After Van Rijn hit a double, Brown would hit a sacrifice bunt to move Van Rijn to third base, where she was substituted by Lewellen, their turn ended when Romero grounded out.

The Lady Wildcats went down in order during the bottom of the sixth inning after a pair of ground outs and a strikeout, closing out the sixth inning.

The seventh inning started with Thompson grounding out. After Buster was intentionally walked, and substituted by Diaz, two more outs followed when Monk struck out and Smith hit a fly ball for an out.

The bottom of the seventh inning started with a ground out. Following a single and a pop out, the next batter was intentionally walked. Then, Weimar ended the game with a walk-off RBI single, winning the game 4-3 and handing the Lady Eagles a heartbreaking loss.

With these results, the Lady Eagles’ season has come to an end. They end the season as undefeated district champions, bi-district champions, area champions, regional champions, and state runners-up.