Lady Stangs hold off Rouse for second win
LEANDER — In fitting fashion, the Marble Falls High School softball team (2-2) relied on defense to escape with a 4-3 win against Leander Rouse on March 17.
After Rouse junior Tiffany Birdwell led off the last inning with the second of her two home runs, the Lady Raiders loaded the bases after two singles and an error.
That prompted senior catcher Mackinzee Mayfield to call a timeout and gather her teammates.
“She was encouraging us,” sophomore pitcher Alicia Macias said.
Macias forced the next batter to hit into a fielder’s choice. Sophomore third baseman Hailey Wooten picked up the ground ball and threw to Mayfield for the 5-2 forceout.
The game ended on a double play when senior shortstop Shannon Bendas caught a ball hit between second and third and flicked it to Wooten for the last out.
Macias called the play “awesome” and credited Bendas and Wooten.
Head coach Tino Salazar commended both his team and Rouse.
“We didn’t play our best game,” he said. “We had some errors. We didn’t hit the ball.”
Birdwell, the first Lady Raider at the plate, took the second pitch over the left wall, about 225 feet, in the bottom of the second inning for a 1-0 lead.
Marble Falls responded in the third. Freshman Amanda Thomas and senior Mayfield each singled. Senior Mattie Counts hit a dink to shallow center field, allowing her teammates to score 2-1.
Rouse tied the game in the third. An error allowed sophomore Hanna Keener to the plate. She hit a standup double to center field to make the score 2-2.
The Lady Mustangs scored in the fourth. Senior Allison Bendas led off with a single. With the bases loaded, an error allowed Bendas to score.
Marble Falls added another run in the fifth. Mayfield drew a walk. Freshman courtesy runner Tyler Oppenheim scored on an RBI single by Counts.
“Mattie did a good job,” Salazar said. “She came in and hit the ball well.”
Overall, the Lady Mustangs left 10 runners on base.
“That can’t happen,” the coach said. “We’re still trying to get hits in pressure situations. We have to have some leadership step up.”
Macias earned the win.
“Alicia threw a good game overall,” Salazar said. “I thought she did a really good job. Alicia did a good job of keeping the hitters off balance.”