Lady Leps Beat Smithville; Lock Up at Least Second Place in District 22-4A
It was a rematch the La Grange softball players had been waiting weeks for – and it showed.
From the start Monday, the Lady Leps looked like a team on a mission as they batted around in the first inning and never looked back on their way to 7-3 win over district rival Smithville.
“We really wanted this one – obviously,” said La Grange head coach Amanda Arlund, after the win which allowed the Lady Leps to leap-frog Smithville into second place in the district standings with a 5-2 record.
Back on March 21, Smithville shocked La Grange with a last at-bat rally to win in the first meeting between these two, but Monday was different.
“Since that first time we played them, we’ve grown as a team,” said La Grange senior third baseman Madi Schroeder. “Our energy was great today. From the very first play we had energy.”
The first six batters who came to the plate in Monday’s game reached base for La Grange in the bottom of the first with four scoring. Haylie Cooper, Alyssa Liccioni, Schroeder, Teagan Branch and Avery Marshall all had hits in that first inning. Schroeder smacked a double and Branch’s single scored two.
“We came out with fire and energy even after that long four-day Easter break,” Arlund said. “It put them in a hole, gave our pitchers some confidence. It was pivotal.”
Those four runs were more than enough for La Grange on this night as three La Grange pitchers (Rielynn Hall, Marissa Gonzalez and Liccioni) combined to keep Smithville’s lineup off balance.
“That was something we were trying to do all year and tonight it worked. They each did their job and our defense performed behind them,” Arlund said. “They all bring a very different look in terms of speed and spin, and we pitched out of trouble two or three times.”
La Grange kept the momentum going Tuesday when, in a quick turnaround, they went to Taylor and won 5-3.
Now 6-2 in district, the La Grange girls play their home finale Friday at 7 p.m. against district-leading Caldwell.
District 22-4A Softball Caldwell 8-0 La Grange 6-2 Smithville 4-4 Taylor 4-4 Manor NT 1-7 Giddings 1-7