Lady Apaches’ historical season ends at area round

The Gonzales Lady Apaches ended their historic playoff run with a 2-0 area loss to the Needville Lady Bluejays Thursday, May 2.

The Lady Apaches returned the area round for the first time since the 2005 season and capped off a 7-3 second-place district record and 21-10 overall record.

Seniors Sydney McCray and Dakota Schmidt were glad to be part of the historical season and glad to contribute to it.

“It feels great to do it with the girls that you love and the girls you grew up with and everyone you got super close with,” McCray said.

“It feels great. I love each and every one of these girls and it's been such a great experience having it with them and being able to bond with everybody so well. I think even though it ended tonight, everything was so great,” Schmidt said.

Gonzales head softball coach Michelle Uribe, in her second year, turned the Lady Apaches into a state-ranked squad at the start of the season.

“It was so fun. I mean, these girls deserved it. They worked so hard and they earned every bit of everything that they got,” Uribe said.

The Lady Apaches and the Lady Bluejays fought a defensive battle with freshman pitcher Dixie Rae Lester recording 10 strikeouts of Needville’s batters.

Needville would win the batting game, scoring a two-run homer in the top of the fifth, but Uribe was proud of how her team’s defense performed against them.

“They worked hard and they wanted it and they wanted to keep it going for the seniors. So they really they put it all out there as much as they could. And I'm so proud of them,” Uribe said.

Uribe and the Lady Apaches say their goodbyes to four of their seniors (McCray, Schmidt, Kelly Breitschopf and Haley Cantu) and they will miss their impact on the team.

Uribe was able to coach their final two years on the team and was glad to coach them.

“They were just so awesome to coach. They work hard. They're coachable, they want to win. They just do what you ask them. They come every day and you know, just doing those things in life. Is going to put them ahead of the game,” Uribe said.

The future of the Lady Apaches softball program is bright and Uribe and her players are ready for 2025.

“We are still so young, I know were losing our four seniors, but still have so much talent on the field. I am looking forward to doing this again next year and go even further,” Uribe said.

Schmidt and McCray had a message for the upcoming Lady Apaches and the future leaders on the team.

“Just keep playing for each other.” McCray said.

“It doesn’t last forever so don’t take anything for granted, and play your best all the time,” Schmidt said.