If you love offense, then last Friday night’s 26-3A battle in Natalia was the game to attend. There were a combined 27 hits, as the girls in blue were able to outlast the visiting and traditionally tough Poth Pirette Softball team.
“Again, we had to overcome adversity early,” Coach Travis Crowley said. “We hit the ball well all night, but early on it was right to them and they made good plays defensively.”
Sophomore Daniella Garza got the start on the mound for the Lady Mustangs, as she pitched 7.0 innings, allowed ten hits, walked one and struck out ten. The issue once again was defensively. The girls in blue allowed six runs, but only one turned out to be earned due to four errors.
Poth started the game with a run, thanks to three singles in the inning to take the early 1-0 lead.
The girls in blue responded, as they used a Regina Garza single, a stolen base and a single by Daniella Garza to tie the game.
After watching a scoreless 2nd inning all the way around, the Pirettes were able to re-gain the lead in the top of the 3rd. Poth used three singles, an error and a SAC bunt to score a run.
The girls in blue broke this game open in the bottom of the 3rd inning. Natalia started a huge inning with Garza getting on courtesy of an error. This set the tone for a huge offensive out-pour, as they used a D. Garza double, a Figueroa double, a Guzman single, a Gomez fielder’s choice, a double by Perez, a double by Contreras and a double by Sontoya to score six huge runs allowing the Lady Mustangs to take a 7-2 lead.
Poth did not quit, as this program full of tradition in girls athletic scored four runs in the bottom of the 4th to keep things close (7-6).
From here on out, the girls in blue made sure they would not be defeated. Natalia scored one run in bottom of the 4th thanks to a triple by D. Garza and a single by Figueroa.
In the 5th, it was singles by Perez and Contreras combined with an error put into play by Sontoya and a fielder’s choice by R. Garza that allowed them to score run #9.
The final offensive action was in the bottom of the 6th for the Lady Mustangs, as they scored two final runs. These came courtesy of a Figueroa single, a Morales double, a single by Guzman, an error and a fielder’s choice by Perez.
In the bottom of the 7th when the defense needed to come through, they used a Garza K, a line out-3 and a ground out to short-stop to end Poth’s hope. Natalia was able to walk away with an 11-6 home victory.
“We had good pitching by Garza and timely hitting in the 3rd and 4th innings which allowed us to bust the game open,” Crowley said. “Once again, we had too many errors that allowed them to hang around, but to be 3-0 going into the Cole and Brooks game this week is huge.”
At Bat: Garza 3-4-2RBIs-1run scored, Gomez 0-4-1RBI-1run scored, Sam Sanchez 0-0, Guzman 3-4-1RBI, Contreras 2-4-1RBI-1run scored, Perez 3-4-2runs scored, Morales 1-4-2RBIs-1run scored, R. Garza 1-5-2runs scored, Figueroa 3-4-1RBI-2runs scored and Sontoya 1-3-3RBIs.
Defensive Put-Outs: Figueroa 11, Garza 4, Garza 2, Perez 2, Guzman 1, Contreras 1.
Upcoming Games
Natalia hosted the Cole Lady Cougars on press night at Lady Mustang Field as 26-3A continued.
This coming Friday, the Lady Mustangs travel to San Antonio to battle Brooks Academy at 4:00 p.m.
On Tuesday, April 4th action continues as they travel to Atascosa County to battle the Jourdanton Squaws for an outright 26-3A title at 7:00 p.m.
By Eric Smith
Staff Writer