Lady Apaches win again

Holly Long likes the fight she sees in her Gonzales softball team.

She just wants to see a reduction in errors and runs allowed. The Lady Apaches recorded their third come-from-behind victory in as many games as they rallied to beat Hallettsville, 10-7, Tuesday at the Gonzales Softball Field.

“It’s exciting to see us continue to fight and not give up,” Long said. “We just need to stop spotting teams runs early on. We can’t afford to do that in district play. We need to play flawless on defense.”

Gonzales (5-1) competes in the Schulenburg Tournament this weekend before opening District 28-3A play against Yoakum Monday in Gonzales. The Lady Apaches opened Schulenburg Tournament play on Thursday, but the results were not available at press time.

Gonzales’ big inning came in the bottom of the fifth as it scored five runs to turn a 7-5 deficit into a 10-7 lead. Sibil Philippus led off with a single before moving to third on an error, which also allowed Kortney Wishert to reach second, and Carly Bozka drove both runners across the plate with a single to tie the game at 7.

After stealing second base, Bozka scored the go-ahead run on a single from Gabby Mendoza. Morgan Simper drew a walk on the ensuing at-bat, and Shayla Simper drove both Mendoza and Morgan Simper across the plate with a double to cap the scoring.

Shayla Simper started the game at third base, but moved to pitcher at the start of the fourth after starter Lindsey Akers left the game with a hamstring injury. Simper’s move to the circle prompted starting right fielder Jerika Vega to move to third base and Mendoza to come off the bench to play right field.

“I just went out there, pitched how I could and got the job done,” Simper said. “I knew we could bounce back after falling behind. The sense of urgency kicked in after the top of the fifth when they scored two runs.”

The Lady Brahmas scored three runs in the top of the first to build a 3-0 lead. Gonzales battled back to tie the game at 3 with a trio of runs in the bottom of the second.

Both teams scored a pair of runs in the third inning, and the score remained tied at 5 until the top of the fifth when Hallettsville scored two runs to take a 7-5 lead. The Lady Apaches then scored five runs in the bottom of the fifth to take a 10-7 lead that would not be relinquished.

“After we took the lead, I told my defense that we just needed six outs to win the game, and we got the job done,” Simper said.

Bozka, Philippus and Simper all had two hits, while Akers, Mendoza and Jessica Cantu each had one. Akers and Simper both struck out three batters.

With Akers’ hamstring injury, Simper (1-1) was projected to pitch both games on Thursday. She also could pitch all of Saturday’s games.

“I’m excited about this weekend,” Simper said. “This win was a confidence booster.”

St. Paul

Although the St. Paul softball team is missing seven players because of basketball, the Lady Cardinals still got off to a 2-1 start. St. Paul opened the season with wins over New Braunfels Christian (15-0) and Schulenburg (8-5) before dropping a 9-2 decision against Flatonia Tuesday at the Shiner Starplex.

It didn’t take long for the Lady Cardinals to dismantle New Braunfels Christian on Feb. 23 — just three innings to be exact. St. Paul scored 10 runs in the first and five in the second as the game ended via the 15-run mercy rule after three innings of play.

Abby Irvin struck out eight batters and gave up just one hit in the win. Julie Bartek recorded a double and three RBIs, while Emily Pokluda had a hit and three stolen bases.

In St. Paul’s win over Schulenburg Saturday, the Lady Cardinals scored once in the first, three in the third, once in the fifth and three in the sixth. Schulenburg had a pair of runs in the fourth and three in the seventh.

Irvin once again picked up the win in the circle with eight strikeouts. Pokluda went 2-for-3 at the plate with a walk and a pair of RBIs.

In Tuesday’s loss to Flatonia, St. Paul took a 1-0 lead in the third before the Lady Bulldogs exploded for nine runs in the fifth. The Lady Cardinals added a run in the sixth.

Irvin struck out 15 batters in the loss. Abby Hull went 2-for-3 at the plate for St. Paul.

The Lady Cardinals compete in the Schulenburg Tournament this weekend. They started tournament play Thursday night.