Lady Stangs, Lady Tigers to meet in best-of-three bi-district series
MARBLE FALLS — The Marble Falls High School softball team will use the rest of this week to prepare for its bi-district showdown against Dripping Springs.
The best-of-three series starts 7:30 p.m. Friday at Dripping Springs.
IN PHOTO: Marble Falls junior Allison Bendas grabs the bunted ball and looks to throw the out at first base. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
Game two is slated for 4 p.m. Saturday at Scearce Softball Field, 2101 Mustang Drive. If necessary, game three will follow 30 minutes after the conclusion of game two.
Lady Mustangs head coach David Orsag said few secrets exist between the two programs.
Marble Falls (7-19, 4-6 in District 25-4A) already faced the Lady Tigers (27-5, 14-0 in District 26-4A) twice, losing both games.
The Lady Mustangs saw each one of Dripping Springs’ pitchers.
The coach hopes that’s an advantage.
“If we can wear them out,” he said. “Their second pitcher came in against us at College Station, and we handled her pretty good. If it comes down to three games, it’ll be an advantage for us.”
Orsag originally wanted a one-game, winner-take-all contest. But Lady Tigers head coach Keith Tuck would agree to it only if Marble Falls played at Dripping Springs.
The Lady Mustangs coach wanted to play at Austin Westlake.
What changed Orsag’s mind was that his squad had home-field advantage in a series.
“I decided for that reason,” he said. “If we get in that situation, we’ll have two games at our home site.”
And he believes that’s an advantage for the Lady Mustangs for several reasons — knowledge of the field, not having to travel, and using their own clubhouse.
Marble Falls is entering the playoffs on a two-game losing streak – a 2-1 loss to Pflugerville Hendrickson April 20 and an 8-2 setback to Lampasas April 16.
After giving the players Wednesday off, they enjoyed two productive practices Thursday and Friday, Orsag said.
“Normally we go one day hitting and one day fielding,” he said. “We combined both.”
Because the junior varsity season ended, only varsity players were on the field. So coaches set up three hitting stations and a fielding station.
The goal was to move from one station to the next in a quick and efficient manner while still working on form, technique and fundamentals.
Orsag said he was pleased with how his athletes approached each practice.
“They were worn out,” he said.