Mishaps against Smithson Valley help end Lady Mustangs’ season
SAN MARCOS — It wasn’t so much that Smithson Valley recorded 15 hits in a 10-0 defeat of the Marble Falls High School softball team May 3 that ended the Lady Mustangs’ season after six innings.
It was the manner in which the Lady Rangers did it.
A high bouncing ball that went over the head of a Lady Mustang infielder allowing the runner to score was in favor of Smithson Valley.
A similar Marble Falls (19-9) bouncer was caught by a Lady Ranger infielder who threw the runner out to keep Marble Falls from rallying.
A Smithson Valley infielder caught a line drive to strand runners at second and third.
Then Marble Falls had mishaps on routine catches that allowed the Lady Rangers to extend the third inning, resulting in four runs off five hits and a commanding 5-0 lead.
“When you play teams like Smithson Valley, you have to be on in every part of your game,” Lady Mustangs head coach Tino Salazar said. “You have to have good pitching, play solid defense around her, and we only had four hits.”
Smithson Valley freshman pitcher Reagan Mergele earned the win and retired the last nine batters she faced in order. Marble Falls stranded a total of five batters.
Mergele had plenty of run support, though, including back-to-back solo home runs over the left-field wall by senior Whitney Repole and junior Celena Massey.
Marble Falls pitchers Amanda Thomas and Alicia Macias made appearances in the circle. Thomas pitched in the first four innings, while Macias handled the last two.
Taylor Koska is the only senior on the Marble Falls team, but her contributions are immeasurable, Salazar said.
“I wish all my players would follow her example,” he said. “She spent three years on the junior varsity, working to get a chance to start. She worked hard enough to earn that position. I wish all my girls could see that and take into account all that she’s had to do.”
Marble Falls ends the season with a third-place finish in District 25-4A and a bi-district crown for the second consecutive year.