Latexo Lady Tigers Go 5-0 During Tournament
Outscore Opponents 52-4
By Will Johnson
Messenger Reporter
LATEXO – The Latexo Lady Tigers made the postseason last year in softball as a #4 seed and advanced to the Area Round after defeating a #1 seed – the Somerville Yeguas – by a score of 11-1. Unfortunately, they lost in the Area Round to the Granger Lady Lions.
With a few new players and a little more seasoning, the Lady Tigers are back again this year and are looking to build on last year’s success. So far on the season, Latexo is 12-3-1 and after a dominating performance over the weekend it looks like they have a shot at going a lot further than Area.
Latexo went 5-0 during the Latexo Tournament and outscored their opponents by a whopping 52-4 run differential.
One of their games over the weekend was against in-county rival, the Crockett Lady Bulldogs. Aside from giving up an unearned run in the first inning, the Lady Tigers dominated the contest as they won by a final score of 10-1.
Natalie Smith was in the circle for Latexo and fanned the first batter she faced, however, the batter reached first on a dropped third strike.
She struck out the next two batters she faced, but an error, a passed ball and a second dropped third strike allowed the Crockett baserunner to come around to score. A second Lady Bulldog was gunned down at the plate as she attempted to steal home.
That brought the Lady Tigers in from the field and they wasted little time in taking the lead. Back-to-back walks to Mally Moore and Katy Goolsby set the table for Riley Stokes. After Moore stole third and scored on a wild pitch, Stokes slapped a double into left to plate Goolsby.
Stokes took third on the throw and scored on a wild pitch to make it 3-1. Shelby Coker followed with a single to center and moved to second when Smith drew a walk. Izzy Yourgenson was hit by a pitch to load the bases.
After Calli Lee struck out, Kaitlyn Carraza walked to push Coker across the dish. Shelby Waldrep also drew a walk to drive in Smith while Yourgenson scored on a wild pitch to make it 6-1.
That was all the Lady Tigers could muster in the first but after Smith struck out the side in the top of the second, Latexo was at it again.
Stokes led off the second with shot to center and moved to second when Coker was hit by a pitch. Smith and Yourgenson were both walked which pushed Stokes across the plate. Lee was up next and roped a double into the left field gap to drive in Coker along with Smith. Yourgenson was called out at third but Carraza followed with a single to drive in Lee which made the score 10-1.
From there, the Lady Tigers cruised the rest of the way to pick up the win and move to 12-3-1 on the season.
Will Johnson may be contacted via e-mail at [email protected].
