Injuries drag down Lady Apaches in road loss

GERONIMO – Coming into Tuesday's game against district-leading Navarro, the Gonzales Lady Apaches softball team were already short handed with two key starters off the roster due to injuries. After another in-game injury that left head coach Sam White to making defensive switches on the field, the Lady Apaches were unable to recover, losing 11-4 to the Lady Panthers.

“It goes back to before we even got here,” White explained. “Tori [Lester] has the flu. Skylea [Tatsch] has a pulled hamstring. She's day-to-day, maybe week-to-week, I don't know.”

Meanwhile, cleanup hitter [Karina Vara] had to be subbed out in the bottom of a disastrous fourth inning after landing on her arm during a defensive play at third base.

Before the injury, the Lady Panthers were up 3-1 with two outs on the board in that frame. Navarro's Cayli Cowan hit a double to start off the rally. Jaycie Burton plated the next batter before a passed ball allowed both base runners to advance. Then on a 2-0 count to Alyssa Arguello, senior catcher Kristeny Magallenes threw the ball toward third to get someone out but as the ball passed, Vara landed on her arm and the Lady Panthers were able to score two in the process. She was then subbed out and White had to make various changes, including taking his star catcher out from behind the plate and placing her at shortstop.

“They were playing positions they weren't used to playing,” White admitted. “[But] they got to be ready for whatever happens. When you got two of your starters hurt, everyone has got to step up.”

Navarro drove in two more runs on a home run knock by Alyssa Hernandez before Burton forced a fly out to end the inning 7-1.

Vara showed her toughness in the top of the fifth as White put her back in to bat with two outs on the board and a runner on second and third. Vara drove the ball to the outfield for a two-RBI single before having to be subbed out again for the remainder of the game.

“I think she kind of fell on her funny bone, but I mean the thing about Karina was that she came out the game and she went right back,” White said, “she was willing to go back in the game. She got us those two RBIs. I think a lesson learned in this is the girls just have to play through adversity.”

Vara ended the night 1-for-2 with the single, a walk, a run and two RBIs.

Although the Lady Apaches were able to cut the lead to 7-3, Navarro added four more runs in the sixth, two coming after two outs were on the board.

The Lady Panthers finished the night scoring nine runs when they had two outs in the inning. Meanwhile, as the Lady Apaches tried to stage a comeback, with bases loaded in the final inning, they were unable to plate a runner, leaving a total of eight stranded on base.

“In this district, when you got runners on base you got to produce,” White said. “We cannot afford to leave nine, 10 people on base in a game. When we get runners in scoring position, somebody's got to step up and produce and get that hit, whatever it takes.”

Meanwhile, the Lady Apaches are going to have to find ways to finish an inning, according to White, in order to halt any scoring on two outs.

“You can't play varsity softball like that,” White said. “We have to find a way to finish, that's just a matter of staying focused and it's tough. There were times where they were really really focused, but when you get two outs you got to bear down and stay focused. I think that was the turning point in the game, that fourth inning.”

The Lady Apaches are now behind the 8-ball as White mentioned, getting their fourth district loss of the season. Now at 1-4, the team is facing an uphill battle to contend for playoffs. With teams like Navarro going from last place last season to leading district now, there is no way of predicting the outlook of District 26-4A.

Nonetheless, Gonzales finished out the first half of district against Cuero, losing 9-5. That loss puts the team in a bind as now it's going to take a big turnaround to get the Lady Apaches back to the playoffs.

“Every game is going to be do or die now the rest of the way if we're going to make the playoffs,” White noted. “It's tough now.”