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By Amanda Perkins (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
The Houston Lady Tigers are district softball champions thanks to a big seventh-inning rally.
The Lady Tigers and Ava Lady Bears faced off in Mansfield for the Class 2, District 4 showdown Wednesday night and brought home the trophy with a 7-3 victory.
“Ava is really well-coached,” said Houston head coach Jim Moore. “Coach Sawyer is a Hall of Famer in my book and probably will be before long. Ava beat us early in the year, 7-2, and we knew they would be solid and tough to beat. This is something we’ve worked a long time for, and I’m just so proud of these girls.”
Last year, the Lady Tigers ended their season in heartbreak, falling to Forsyth in the district championship.
“After we won yesterday, they discussed how they felt falling just short last year and have used it all year to motivate their team. I told them it would be different today. Experience is everything. We had a lot of girls make plays today. They’ve been there before and the moment wasn’t too big.”
Junior Aliyah Walker was the winning pitcher for Houston. “That game means so much,” she said. “We got second place last year, and it hurt really bad. We didn’t want to feel that way again. I’m so proud of everyone on this team, and I think that was the best game we’ve played in a long time. It feels so good.”
Ava head coach Rex Saywer said his team was 16-7 coming into the championship. “We’ve played good ball up to the point,” he said. “We haven’t committed very many errors and we committed them today. When you do that in a big ball game, it beats you.”
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The Lady Bears will lose their second baseman, Jules Henry, and pitcher Macee Cutbirth. “I’ve got two good seniors, and they’ve been leaders all year long,” said Sawyer. “You hate for them to go out like this, but that’s part of the game. They’re good kids.”
Houston got a slow start with three up, three down in the first inning, but Ava leadoff batter Olivia Gastineau walked and moved on passed balls to put the Lady Bears on the board.
Kelsie Pritchett opened the third with a double for Houston, and Maddy Riley bunted to advance her. Aliyah Walker’s sacrifice ground ball scored a run and tied the game. Ava’s Lexie Gastineau caught a deep ball in center field to close the inning.
Maddy Riley singled in the top of the fifth, and Karlee Curtis doubled. An error at third sent Curtis home, and Houston led 3-1 to close the frame.
In the bottom of the fifth, Sara Mendel led things off for Ava with a single. Lilli Honeycutt added a deep hit, and Kaelyn Stillings moved the runners with her at-bat. Olivia Gastineau’s two out, two RBI hit tied the game, 3-3, and a ground out closed the inning.
Houston opened the seventh with catcher McKenzie Holder hitting a shot over the right fielder’s head, but Ava right fielder Kaelyn Stillings made a play to hold her to a single. Courtesy runner Lacey Cavaness advanced to second on a passed ball. Then Kelsie Pritchett hit the ball hard to third and was able to reach base. Maddy Riley laid down a bunt, misplayed by Ava, resulting in two runs for Houston, 5-3. Riley scored on a passed ball, 6-3. A Hannah Dzurick single, followed by a Mali Brookshire triple, scored again, 7-3. A pop out closed the inning.
“We wanted to stay solid with our approach and to be aggressive at the plate, and to get some good swings,” said Coach Moore of the final frame. “We did, and made a little noise. When we get on base, we create a lot of havoc with our team speed. Maddie Riley put down an excellent bunt and it put pressure on the defense and caused them to make a mistake. That allowed us to score runs and to change the momentum.”
Houston’s second baseman Madi Reed shut down an Ava drive with a double play to close the game and claim the championship.
“It’s our program’s second district championship, but these girls weren’t around for the first one,” said Coach Moore. “They were really, really small. So it’s super exciting, we know the town is thrilled, and we’re fired up and excited to play again.”
Houston is now 18-5 on the season and will next take on Central (Park Hills) in state semifinal play on May 23 in Springfield.
