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Softball: Cowgirls rally to win District 6-5A title
BY JUSTIN THOMAS, JThomas@acnpapers.com
COPPELL — Throughout much of the 2010 season, Coppell’s softball team was perched atop the Class 5A state rankings.
But it came down to the final at bat of the regular season before the Cowgirls could claim their spot as the top team in District 6-5A.
Marissa Malazzo’s one-out double down the right field line in the bottom of the seventh inning plated the tying and game-winning runs as Coppell came from behind to top Flower Mound, 4-3, to win the District 6-5A Championship.
“I’m feeling great,” said Katie Krug, Coppell coach. “They’re fighters and they wanted that district championship and weren’t going to lose it. They could have given up but they didn’t. As soon as we went up there I knew that they were going to get it done and they did.”
Flower Mound is still headed to the playoffs, but its positioning is still up in the air. If Marcus earns a win today against Hebron, the Lady Marauders (6-3) will claim second after sweeping Flower Mound. A loss puts Marcus in third and Flower Mound in second.
“We played pretty good so I’m not too unhappy about the loss,” said Mark Larriba, Flower Mound coach. “They’re just a good team and they played well. We fell behind in the count a little too much but hey, what can you do? We kept battling and played well, so we’re happy.”
Flower Mound trailed for much of the contest before grabbing the lead in the top of the sixth inning. Katie St. Pierre and Natalie Huse opened the inning with singles and came in to score on a Coppell throwing error with one out. But Cowgirls pitcher Peyton Mosley recorded the final out on a grounder to keep the deficit at 3-2. Mosley had previously entered in the fifth for starter Laura Ramos in a bases loaded jam with two outs and ended the threat with a strikeout.
“Mosley did an awesome job,” Krug said. “Right now, both pitchers are really playing off each other and picking up each other and that’s what we need in the playoffs. It’s going to take everybody.”
In the bottom of the seventh, Krug went to her bench to get the rally started and the move paid off as Alicia Van Winkle reached on a single. Madison Buckley entered as a courtesy runner and moved into scoring position on a line-drive single by Lindsay Zabojnik before Malazzo delivered the game-winning hit.
“I told [Van Winkle] I don’t want a home run,” Krug said. “I just want contact and that’s what she did. And I knew [Buckley] would come in and run for her to get that first run in. Zabojnik always comes though under pressure and Marissa…you could just see it in her eyes. As soon as she hit it I knew we had won the game.”
“I’m feeling pretty good,” Malazzo added. “It took every single one of us to do it. We came together in the dugout and knew we had to do it from the heart and that’s what we did. I had to pull it together for our team and I just stayed back and drove the ball the other way.”
Zabojnik got Coppell in front in the bottom of the first, reaching on a leadoff single and scoring on an RBI walk by Kelsey Latta off Flower Mound starter Taylor Mosher.
The Cowgirls pushed the lead to 2-0 on an RBI double by Latta that scored Tricia Van Winkle.
But Flower Mound started to get the bats going in the fourth when Stacia Boeckstiegel roped a solo homer over the left field fence off Ramos.
“I was real proud of how we battled,” Larriba said. “That’s sports. You can’t win every game. We’re not down and the girls are fine and ready for the playoffs. We just need to finish a little better, but I was pleased with how we played.”
Coppell, meanwhile, enters the playoffs as the No. 1 seed from the district and will hit the postseason with momentum.
“This just feels awesome,” Krug said. “Our goal now is state and I think we can achieve it.”
Coppell will take the first step toward that goal at 2 p.m. Saturday against Keller Fossil Ridge at Byron Nelson High School in Trophy Club.
The teams did not face each other during the regular season.
Fossil Ridge (6-7) enters the postseason as the No. 4 seed from District 5-5A having won two of its last three contests. The Lady Panthers lost their regular season finale against Keller, however, 4-2. But the Lady Indians finished with a perfect district mark.
On Wednesday, Coppell earned a district win over Lewisville, 6-2.
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