Knowing there was minimal room for error, the Natalia Lady Mustangs hosted the Karnes City Lady Badgers last Friday, April 7th. Although the girls in blue picked up a lop-sided win scoreboard wise during their first outing, Natalia also knew they had made too many defensive errors to be comfortable.
This past Friday, the Lady Mustangs out-hit Karnes city 12-8, but the positive was the fact they limited their errors to one which was a good thing to see.
When the seven-inning battle ended, Natalia picked up the win allowing them to remain tied for the 26-3A title.
“I was pleased with our effort and the fact we went out and took care of business,” Natalia Head Coach Travis Crowley said.
Junior Felicia Guzman got the start on the mound, as she pitched all 7.0 innings. She allowed eight hits, walked three, struck out seven allowing four runs, all of which were earned.
After watching KC go down 1-2-3 in their first at bat, Natalia struck in the bottom of the 1st. they used singles by Daniella Garza, Biviana Figueroa and a huge double by JuJu Morales to take the 2-0 lead.
KC attempted to have a two-out rally in the bottom of the second as they got two on in a row with two outs. Luckily, an F3 was secured for out three to get out of the inning.
Natalia added to their lead in the bottom of the second inning. They used a Gabi Sontoya base on balls, a Garza single and a Figueroa double to take a 4-0 lead.
KC struck back in the top of the 3rd with a three-run inning thanks to two singles, a double, one walk and a fielder’s choice to make this a game.
In the bottom of the 4th Natalia took the game back and took control. They answered with a four-run inning thanks to two walks, doubles by Morales, Perez and Sanchez to extend their lead 8-3 over KC.
Natalia added one final run in the 5th before watching KC attempt one final rally in the 7th.
Natalia used two straight Ks by Guzman, to start the top of the 7th. KC then used a single to set the stage for what appeared to be a huge two run home-run allowing KC to stick around a bit longer. When #16 rounded third and headed toward home, she was celebrated with by her team before she stepped on home plate which is against the rules. When Natalia HC Crowley challenged the umpire and the rule was reviewed, she was called out which was the third and final out resulting in the 9-4 victory.
This was not met with happiness by the KC Coach as he approached Natalia’s Crowley. At the end of the day, a rule is a rule and this was not one allowed to be broken in an important 26-3A game.
At bat: D. Garza 3-3-2RBIs-3runs scored, Guzman 0-3-1run scored, Contreras 0-4, Perez 2-2-1run scored, Morales 2-4-3RBIs, R. Garza 0-3, Sanchez 1-2-3RBIs, Figueroa 3-3-1RBI-2runs scored and Sontoya 1-3-2runs scored.
Defensive Put-Outs: Figueroa 8, Perez 4, D. Garza 3, Contreras 2, Sontoya 1, Jasmione Gomez 1.
Update: Natalia picked up a big 14-8 road win on Monday night at Poth which all but secures a piece of the 26-3A title, assuming Jourdanton wins out versus KC and Poth and assuming Natalia downs Cole and Brooks Academy.
Upcoming Games
Natalia returns to action Tuesday, April 18th on the road in San Antonio versus Cole at 4:00 p.m.
By Eric Smith
Staff Writer