Marble Falls softball loses 1, ties 1 on first day of Ingram tourney
CAPTION: Marble Falls catcher Jocelyn Suarez and the Lady Mustangs are learning more valuable lessons during the first week of the 2024 season. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School softball team began the first day of the Ingram Tom Moore tournament with a 0-1-1 record Feb. 15.
The Lady Mustangs (0-3-1) tied Ingram 6-6 and lost to Medina 8-6 on day one and began the second day with a 6-4 loss to San Antonio West Campus.
“The kids played well,” head coach Alex Lozoya said. “The girls did a great job of coming out and competing.”
Marble Falls had plenty of fireworks for Ingram. Ayden Ortis “had a big hit” to get on base. Kylie Roberts hit a two-run homer to trim the deficit to 4-2. Cheyenne Thompson “got a big double” to score Jocelyn Suarez to cut into the lead 4-3. Then Sophia Biagini tied the game on an RBI single.
Marble Falls was winning 6-5 thanks to an in-the-park home run by Roberts.
But Ingram’s final at-bat produced the winning run off an error.
The coach commended junior pitcher Camille Catalfamo for giving her team a chance.
“She held it down,” he said. “Defensively, we made some good plays.”
Against Medina, Marble Falls raced to a 5-1 lead then had some defensive miscues.
“That defensive bug crept in again,” Lozoya said.
That allowed Medina to tie the game at 5-5.
Marble Falls, which was the visiting team, had a final at-bat. The Lady Mustangs loaded the bases with no outs and looked to score the go-ahead run. But the first out came when a Lady Mustang left a base early. That allowed a 1-2-3 double play to end the opportunity.
“Medina used that momentum to come out for their half of the inning,” the coach said. “We were trying to get aggressive. (The base runner) got caught. There was a ground ball. The kids pressed. They made two great throws to end the game.”
Though the Lady Mustangs didn’t get a win, Lozoya was encouraged by what he saw.
“The big thing was how they came out and attacked,” he said. “In the Medina game, we were trying to do too much. We started appreciating the singles that turned to doubles. Camille did a great job. She showed fearlessness and tried attacking the strike zone. I’m encouraged that it’s coming around.”
Marble Falls ends the tournament Saturday, Feb. 16, with a 9 a.m. contest against Mason and a 10:30 a.m. game against Leakey.
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