Marble Falls softball loses to Jarrell in district opener

CAPTION: Marble Falls junior Kylie Roberts’ plate production ensures the Lady Mustangs play more against Jarrell in the District 24-4A opener March 12. staff photo by Jennifer Fierro

The Marble Falls High School softball team lost to Jarrell 16-4 in five innings in the District 24-4A opener March 12.

The Lady Cougars (1-0) took an 11-0 lead in the first inning and only drew 2 walks.

“We fell behind in the pitch count and gave extra at-bats,” Marble Falls head coach Alex Lozoya said. “Jarrell needed that and made us pay for it right in the first. We fell behind in the pitch count, and they ended up putting balls in play. Jarrell’s better players got singles and doubles. We didn’t make plays on balls. That limited the production.”

Pitching wasn’t the only hurdle for the Lady Mustangs. Lozoya noted making routine plays on ground balls and fly balls also was difficult. He pointed to a fly ball that was hit in foul territory that he thought was an automatic out that was dropped.

“That same batter ended up hitting a ball in the gap that cleared the bases,” he said. “You saw the extra chances in what I thought were freebies.”

Jarrell added four more runs in the second inning for a 15-0 lead. Knowing they had one more at-bat, Marble Falls focused on extending the contest.

Senior Aydan Ortis drew a walk, while freshman Jocelyn Suarez singled. Then junior Kylie Roberts hit a 2 RBI double to left field to put the Lady Mustangs on the board.

Neither team scored in the third inning. The Lady Cougars added a run in the fourth.

In the top of the fifth inning, Ortis drew a walk and Roberts hit a two-run homer that showed her physical strength.

“That’s one of the furthest balls I ever saw hit,” Lozoya said. “And that was against the wind. It was still rising when it cleared the scoreboard.”

Roberts, who was named her team’s player off the game, was 2 for 3 at the plate highlighted by the two-run homer and ended the contest with 4 RBI.

Lozoya said that while Marble Falls may have given up an average of a walk per inning, he emphasized at least four were intentional. That’s because coaches wanted to create situations where the Lady Mustangs simply had to get the ball and touch the bag for the sure out.

“We ended up getting two pop-ups to get us out of jams,” he said. “We have to make those outs when we get the chance. We have to get ahead in the pitch count and get foul balls. In the third and fourth innings we got ahead and made them uncomfortable.”

Marble Falls will travel to face Lampasas at 6 p.m. Tuesday, March 19. The Lady Badgers beat Lago Vista 11-0.

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