Despite the rainy conditions this week, the College Station softball team is hoping the bats stay as hot as they did in the team’s Class 5A bi-district sweep of Waco University last week.
The Lady Cougars (27-5) scored a combined 36 runs over 10 innings against the Lady Trojans, 32 of them via RBIs. Leadoff hitter Callia Carreon led the team with five RBIs while fellow starters Reese Dalton (four), Bryce Clendenin (three) and Shaenyn Yates (three) were not far behind.
“We did a really good job up and down the lineup [last week] and that’s been fun for us,” College Station head coach Vinnie Carreon said. “It’s kind of the piece we’ve been missing the last couple of weeks in district is kind of hitting together as a unit and as a lineup.”
The hit parade continued off the bench as Ambar Aguilar and Brenna Pruitt led all pinch-hitters with three RBIs a piece. Pruitt’s came in the series opener with a three-run homer, while Aguilar’s double scored the final three runs in the series-clincher on Friday.
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“What you saw this weekend is what we’re capable of really against any pitching, so it was really good to see 1 through 9 doing their job and then we had some kids come off the bench who we trust a lot to come off and did some really cool things also,” Vinnie said.
That fast start will look to become a trend starting Thursday against last season’s area opponent in Georgetown East View. The Lady Patriots and Lady Cougars will meet at Navasota High School at 5 p.m. on Thursday for game one, before the series shifts to East View’s Patriot Park at 5 p.m. on Friday.
If necessary, the third game will be played following the second game with a tentative start time of 7 p.m.
While the two teams crossed paths a season ago in this same round, Vinnie says there’s still a somewhat unfamiliarity when looking at East View’s roster.
“They have a few returners that played a big part in what they do,” coach Carreon said. “Their shortstop [Maddy Rose] is back [and] she’s a really good player. She’s young, but she was really good as a freshman and this year, she’s taking another step. There’s some things that [head] coach [Kari] Wright likes to do over there [that] we’re familiar with and that we’ve seen last year, so while a few of their big players have moved on to play in college, the program is the same. They’re going to be very disciplined and put the ball in play.”
One of the games he points to that showcases that ability is East View’s 5-0 district loss to 23-5A champion Georgetown, the same team that knocked College Station out of the playoffs a season ago.
The score might not indicate it, but coach Carreon says the Lady Patriots (18-17) put a lot of balls in play against Georgetown’s pitcher and played solid defense against the Lady Eagles.
“We’re going to have our work cut out for us for sure,” he said.
College Station will try and counter that with starting pitcher Gracie Ream. The junior worked just the series opener against Waco University as sophomore Samone Clark pitched the second game.
Ream will get the start on Thursday and look to duplicate last Thursday’s outing as she gave up just one hit, one walk and struck out 11 on 81 pitches in a five-inning complete game performance.
“I can’t get tired of talking about Gracie Ream,” coach Carreon laughed. “Just what she does for us in the circle and just as a competitor and how hard she works. Every time that kid’s in the circle, we’ve got a really good chance.”
He also feels that with Ream out there, it builds confidence for College Station’s bats.
“She’s throwing a bunch of strikes and our defense has been really solid behind her and a lot [of] times, our defense really isn’t required for six or seven outs a game,” he said. “With that security blanket there, our kids and our offense feels really good at the plate and there’s not a lot of pressure to put a bunch of runs up. I think when you feel that loose, those runs kind of come naturally.”