Lady Stangs go into break undefeated
MARBLE FALLS — For the first time in several years, the Marble Falls High School softball team will enter Spring Break atop the District 25-4A standings.
That’s because the Lady Mustangs (12-5, 3-0) defeated Leander Rouse 10-5 March 12 in a contest that was postponed from March 9 because of rain.
PHOTO 1: Marble Falls High School junior outfielder Abby Henry rounds first base in the Lady Mustangs’ 10-5 district win against Leander Rouse on March 12. Courtesy photos
PHOTO 2: Marble Falls sophomore pitcher Amanda Thomas picked up the 10-5 win against Leander Rouse March 12 to help the Lady Mustangs go 3-0 in District 25-4A play.
PHOTO 3: Marble Falls junior third baseman Hailey Wooten drives the ball to the gap in the Lady Mustangs’ game against Leander Rouse March 12.
Marble Falls took control early, plating four runs in the first and a run in the third.
But Rouse trimmed the lead 5-3 in the fourth.
Junior Alicia Macias hit an RBI single in the fourth and sophomore Skylar Riley hit a three-run homer in the sixth.
“Alicia’s RBI was huge,” head coach Tino Salazar said. “(Tyler capping) it off with a home run was really big.”
Sophomore pitcher Amanda Thomas earned the win.
Other Marble Falls softball teams had a chance to go into Spring Break undefeated but none did.
So why this team? After all, six starters, who spent least three years on the varsity, were lost to graduation in May last year, and some athletes who didn’t play a lot have been thrust into the starting lineup.
Junior outfielder Abby Henry offered one reason.
“I think we’ve bonded as a team more this year,” she said. “When teams are in a situation like we have, it forces us to be more dependent on each other. It puts a lot of trust in people we haven’t been dependent on.”
Players developed that trust the old-fashioned way – by hosting sleepovers, eating more meals together and doing more activities outside of school together, she said.
It also helps the Lady Mustangs bounced back from a hitting slump they suffered during the A&M Consolidated Tournament March 1-3.
“A lot of it is mental,” Salazar said. “I try to get them relax. We change batting practice, we have soft tosses and tees. There’s a time when you zone everything out, it’s you and the pitcher. I hope they’re taking that into the ball game.”
The Lady Mustangs will face Lampasas in a nondistrict contest 1 p.m. March 15 at Scearce Field, 2101 Mustang Drive.