Sports

Seniors softball wins Texas East title, opens Southwestern Regional tonight

Sara Hancock makes contact at the plate during the Seguin Seniors Softball All-Stars’ state title clinching win over Houston-Northside National at Starcke Park. Hancock finished 2-3 with a run scored and one RBI.

(Seguin) – It took over 24 hours to do it, but Seguin Little League’s Seniors Softball All-Stars captured the Texas East state championship at Starcke Park with a 5-1 victory over Houston-Northside National in a game that started on Tuesday evening and finished on Wednesday.

Tuesday night, Northside National had a runner on third base with one out in the top of the second inning when the skies over Starcke Park opened and drenched the field with rain after volunteers had spent the bulk of the afternoon preparing the facility for play.

The contest resumed on Wednesday, and Northside National promptly took a 1-0 lead when Alyssa Mata sprinted home from third on a wild pitch. Seguin turned momentum and took the lead for good with two runs in the third inning when Erica Trevino doubled in Jessica Aguilar and Sara Hancock’s RBI-single plated Trevino.

The Seguin All-Stars tacked on two more runs in the fourth when Emily Richter drove in Sam Shannon with a base hit, and Richter eventually came home on an error. The final Seguin run scored in the fifth when Hancock doubled and crossed the plate on a single by Ruthie Jones.

Seguin manager Randall Herzog commended his team for regaining its focus Wednesday night after a sluggish start and after expecting to lock up the state title the night before.

“It’s hard to keep that much emotion and competition up when you come geared up for a game to end the championship, and all of the sudden it’s halted for whatever reason, and you’ve got to start up again,” Herzog said. “It took us awhile to get warmed up, but of course, whenever you put the bat on the ball, it cures everything.”

In the pitcher’s circle, Ciara Luna picked up the complete-game win. Luna allowed one run on five hits and struck out six with only one walk in seven innings of work. The Seguin defense supported Luna with an error-free performance.

Seguin now advances to the Southwestern Regional Tournament, which begins tonight on the campus of Louisiana College in Pineville, Louisiana. The tournament field includes Seguin, Texas West champion San Antonio-Northside, Louisiana state champion Lake Charles, the state champions from New Mexico, and tournament host Vidalia, Louisiana.

Herzog anticipates his team’s pitching and defense to remain solid in regional play, but he looks for improved production at the plate from his lineup.

“We have to hit the ball,” Herzog said. “There’s a group over there from Louisiana that can hit the ball very well, and it doesn’t matter is Ciara, Katlyn, or Jessica end up on the mound – we’ve got to have that defense to support it, but when you get in a one-run game, a two-run game, you’ve got to outscore them. I think the defense will be there – it’s just a matter of scoring.”

Seguin opens the Southwestern Regional Tournament against Lake Charles tonight at 6 p.m.

Ciara Luna fires home a pitch for Seguin on Tuesday night against Houston-Northside National. Luna struck out six to earn the complete-game win.

Friday Schedule

Little League Seniors Softball Southwestern Regional Tournament @ Pineville, Louisiana

Seguin vs. Lake Charles, Louisiana, 6 p.m.