Liberty Hill beats Marble Falls girls with one swing
MARBLE FALLS — One swing of the bat was the difference between winning and losing.
PHOTO 1: Marble Falls High School shortstop Tyler Oppenheim runs to catch a pop-up for the final out of the first inning during the Lady Mustangs’ 2-0 loss to Liberty Hill on Feb. 14. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
PHOTO 2: Marble Falls High School senior Hayley Fishbeck (left) prepares to run to second base in the bottom of the first inning in the Lady Mustangs’ game against Liberty Hill on Feb. 14. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
Liberty Hill defeated the Marble Falls High School softball team 2-0 off a 2-run homer by Lynsey Mitchell in the fourth inning.
“She hit an inside pitch,” Marble Falls head coach Tino Salazar said. “She turned on it.”
The runs didn’t bother Salazar, he said. What bugged him was that Liberty Hill sophomore pitcher Sam Junkin strike out 11 Lady Mustangs while pitching all seven innings.
“My issue is how flat we came out and how we’re just expecting everyone to lay down for us,” he said. “We should always be able to score two runs or more. We didn’t have an approach, and we let the umpire dictate (the pitch count).”
He noted Junkin performed well.
“She threw better than she did in the scrimmage,” he said. “She threw a good game. (But) we’re working to get the ball in play. There’s no way with this team I have that we should be striking out (that) many times.”
ON DEFENSE: Marble Falls freshman pitcher Makenzie Carpenter had 5 strikeouts and gave up one hit in 3 innings; Liberty Hill sophomore pitcher Sam Junkin had 11 strikeouts in 7 innings.
RECORDS: Marble Falls is 1-1.
UP NEXT: Marble Falls vs. Texas City at 9 a.m. and vs. Odessa Permian at 5 p.m. Feb. 15 at Scearce Field, 2101 Mustang Drive in Marble Falls
jfierro@thepicayune.com