Marble Falls softball loses to Georgetown Gateway
CAPTION: Marble Falls junior Kylie Roberts slides into home plate to score the Lady Mustangs’ second run after freshman Jocelyn Suarez scored the first run in the fourth inning against Georgetown Gateway. Staff photo by Jennifer Fierro
The Marble Falls High School softball team lost to Georgetown Gateway 18-7 March 22.
The Lady Gators (15-5-2, 3-0) scored 3 in the first inning, 5 in the third inning and began the fourth inning with a solo home run. That inning ended with a 16-0 advantage.
In their half of the inning, the Lady Mustangs (11-11-2, 0-3) got on the scoreboard. Freshman Jocelyn Suarez reached on a single then went to third thanks to a hit-and-run at-bat by junior Kylie Roberts. Sophomore Cheyenne Thompson hit an RBI triple then scored on a wild pitch.
A Marble Falls throwing error allowed Gateway to score 2 unearned runs for an 18-3 advantage in the fifth inning.
In the bottom half of the inning, junior Emma Cayce hit a single that allowed sophomore Mackenzie Grider to run home from first base. But as the Lady Gators threw home, Grider had the presence of mind to slide head first to avoid the tag to score the run.
“Our kids offensively are competing well with whoever is pitching,” Marble Falls head coach Alex Lozoya said.
Gateway junior pitcher Chloe Ellis, regarded as district’s elite pitcher, was taken out of circle when her team led 16-0. While Ellis gets a lot of attention for her pitching, Lozoya said she is an equally dangerous hitter.
“She is special,” he said. “We intentionally walked her all five times, and I appreciated the hustle to first base on her last walk. That was a great gesture. She’s a game changer.
“We have to play defense from the start to see what kind of game we can be in,” he added. “I think our kids can do offense. We just want to play defense and it’s mental. You have to get over that mental edge.”
He pointed to the second inning as the example.
Gateway had bases loaded with no outs. Junior pitcher Emma Cayce struck out the next batter, second baseman Roberts caught a fly ball, and a groundball was hit to third base where Thompson touched the bag for the third out.
“We get out of the inning with no damage,” Lozoya said. “We have to swing the other way around. We are consistent at being inconsistent.”
Because of the Easter holiday, there’s been a change to the schedule. Marble Falls welcomes Lago Vista Tuesday, March 26, then travels to face Burnet Thursday, March 28, at Bulldog Diamonds. Both games start at 6 p.m.
Watch videos on Highland Lakes sports by going to Fierro’s YouTube channel and searching for The Broad Podcaster. Please like, subscribe and share.
