Marble Falls softball loses to Pflugerville Weiss
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior Sophia Biagini gets a piece of this pitch to extend the count. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School softball team lost to Pflugerville Weiss 15-0 Feb. 27 in the Lady Mustangs’ home opener.
While the score may indicate a lopsided contest, Lady Mustangs head coach Alex Lozoya said he saw several positives from this game.
One was a double play in the fourth inning started by junior catcher Emma Cayce, who was in mid stance as she caught a pop-up that fell into her glove. Once she rose to her feet, she immediately threw to first base to get the runner out, who was on her way to second on the bunt attempt. Infielder Kylie Roberts stretched for the ball to ensure the second out.
Lozoya called it one of the most athletic plays made by any player he has witnessed in a long time.
“Kylie showed up out of nowhere and caught the ball,” he said. “With two outs we’re thinking ‘let’s go.’ They’re a good hitting team.”
The Lady Raiders then proceeded to score eight runs in the inning. As he watched, Lozoya said he saw the Lady Mustangs (5-6-2) were in prime position to catch fly balls, pop-ups and get to ground balls. They knew where to go with the ball to make a play. The challenge now is to squeeze the ball tightly once it gets in the glove and make an accurate throw to a baseman for the out.
Lozoya noted that his players displayed a sense of understanding situational softball thanks to countless hours of repping. Now they must execute better. What encourages coaches, he said, is that the work the players are putting in during practices can be seen during ball games.
“They tried so hard,” he said. “A lot of our hard times is just getting that third out, to get them off the field. (Weiss) hit a few hard-line drives, flyballs and groundouts. I don’t think the record indicates how well the girls have been playing. But there still has to be a winner and a loser.”
He also thought junior pitcher Camille Catalfamo performed well in the circle.
“Camille did a great job of throwing strikes,” the coach said. “You weren’t seeing walk after walk after walk. I commend her. I told her, ‘You pounded the strike zone. They put the ball in play.’ There were extra batters.”
Lozoya said Weiss brought a team that plays defense and commits few errors.
“The girls got good pitches,” he said. “She had a good rise ball that was moving up.”
Lozoya said he’d like to have all his players available to the program to go through a full offseason and fall season. The reality, however, is his players are really talented and have other interests where they shine. And not all of those talents are in sports.
“Don’t feel guilty for being good at something else,” he tells them. “Some of our kids have other interests and do other things really well. There’s a next opportunity for somebody else. We made some plays with tough outs. We need to capitalize on those opportunities and get those outs.”
The Lady Mustangs are back in action in their Mustang Round-up tournament this weekend. They welcome San Antonio Universal City at 12:30 p.m. and Bastrop Cedar Creek at 4:15 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 29. On Saturday, March 2, Marble Falls hosts Universal City at 2 p.m., Cedar Creek at 3:30 p.m. and St. Mary’s Hall at 5:30 p.m. All games are at Scearce Softball Field on the Marble Falls High School campus.
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CAPTION: Marble Falls junior second baseman Kylie Roberts tries to get to a ground ball as freshman shortstop Jocelyn Suarez runs after the ball. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
