Lady Apaches take 3rd in tourney

SCHULENBURG – In softball, it’s not over until it’s over.

A team must record 21 outs and score more runs than the opposition to win. The Gonzales softball team once again put this theory into play as the Lady Apaches rallied from a 6-0 deficit to defeat Hallettsville, 7-6, in the third-place game of the Schulenburg Tournament Saturday in Schulenburg.

The victory marked the second time in five days that Gonzales (8-3) rallied to defeat Hallettsville. The Lady Apaches trailed the Lady Brahmas by as many as three runs on Feb. 28 before rallying for a 10-7 win.

Gonzales went 3-2 in tournament play with both losses coming against eventual tournament champion Flatonia. The Lady Apaches also defeated Sacred Heart and Louise in the tournament.

Four Gonzales players were named to the all-tournament team as well. Carly Bozka, Morgan Simper, Shayla Simper and Jerika Vega all earned all-tournament awards.

Gonzales opened District 28-3A play Monday against Yoakum. The Lady Apaches return to action Friday when they host Cuero at 7 p.m.

Nixon-Smiley

NIXON – Even in defeat, John Hilsberg remained positive.

Instead of focusing on the things that went wrong during the Nixon-Smiley softball team’s 19-2 loss to Falls City Friday at Nixon-Smiley High School, he pointed out several things that went right. After all, Hilsberg said he and the Lady Mustangs are “a work in progress.”

“Even with the score being lopsided, we improved in several areas,” Hilsberg said. “We improved on defense. This also is my first year to coach softball so I’m still learning some things, but if we keep making strides and improving, good things will happen.”

Nixon-Smiley did not record a hit in the four-inning loss Friday. Falls City pitchers Shaw Moy (1 inning) and Reagan Ehlers (3 innings) combined for five strikeouts, seven walks and a hit batsman without allowing a hit.

The Lady Beavers scored in all four innings, and seized early momentum with five runs in the top of the first. The Lady Mustangs scored a pair of runs thanks to five consecutive walks issued by Moy.

Ashlyn Maldonado, Jordan Newman and Miranda Carillo all drew walks to load the bases for Brooke Gordon, who drove Maldonado across the plate thanks to a walk. Newman scored on a wild pitch on the next at-bat to cut the lead to 5-2.

Falls City scored seven runs in the second, one in the third and six in the fourth as the game ended after four innings thanks to the 15-run mercy rule. The 15-run rule in softball goes into effect after three innings of play.

Nixon-Smiley hosts Pettus at 4:30 p.m. today.

St. Paul

Although it did not play on Saturday, the St. Paul softball team still went 1-1 in a pair of games Thursday at the Schulenburg Tournament. The Lady Cardinals pounded Mumford, 19-4, before falling against Schulenburg, 12-5.

St. Paul did not participate in the tournament Saturday because of the girls basketball team’s appearance in the TAPPS 2A state championship game in Mansfield.

Head softball coach Chris Farias also serves as a basketball assistant.

In the win over Mumford, the Lady Cardinals scored nine runs in both the first and third innings before scoring the clincher in the bottom of the fourth. Morgan Hull was 4-for-4 with a triple, while Kylie Natal went 3-for-3 with a walk.

In the loss to Schulenburg, St. Paul fell behind 3-0 after three innings of play before tying the game with a trio of runs in the top of the fourth. But the Lady Horns scored seven runs in the bottom of the fourth and two in the fifth to stave off the Lady Cardinals’ comeback attempt.

Abby Irvin went 2-for-3, while Elise Patek was 1-for-2 with a walk and a double. St. Paul visits Sacred Heart at 6 p.m. today in Hallettsville.