Wednesday, April 24, 2024
STEPHENVILLE – Tolar's softball season ended Monday in Stephenville as the Lady Rattlers were upset by Hico in the regional quarterfinals of the state Class 2A playoffs at Stephenville High School.
The loss left the Lady Rattlers stunned and in tears after Tolar (22-6) lost two straight games to the Lady Tigers. Counting Saturday's 14-5 series-opening win, Tolar was 4-0 against Hico and had outscored the Lady Tigers 37-13.
In the end, Tolar beat itself.
Over the final two games, Tolar outhit Hico 13-7. Still, the glaring problem was 10 errors, including seven in the last match where pitcher Reese Tryon whirled out a three-hitter after having tossed a four-hitter in the first game of the evening.
Tryon was masterful in the final game, especially considering she had thrown 112 pitches and recorded 10 strikeouts in the evening's previous contest. The sophomore would add six more strikeouts in the second game, and just one of the seven runs scored by Hico was earned.
" They're (Hico) good. And we've been telling them (Lady Rattlers) that they got better," Tolar coach Christy Collie said. "Looking back, we got five seniors that have just peaked this year. Some have been peaking almost every season, but some just peaked at the right time this year. They've never had a year like this."
Collie referred to her seniors Baili Deaver, Kodi Gay, Hope Grivette, Makayla Moore, and Jorden Walker; whose combined leadership took Tolar on the deepest playoff run in the program's history.
"They have set the bar for our returning girls and the freshmen coming in," Collie said. "It's history in the making. We end with six losses, playing big schools, you know, and winning big games."
Four of Tolar's six losses came against bigger schools as the Lady Rattlers took on 4A's Crowley, Benbrook, 5A Azle and 3A Grandview during the season.
Collie also pointed out what an entire three-game series means for her younger players.
"It's about getting them the playoff exposure," Collie said. "It's about being a part of it and seeing this level of competition. The bracket play and just the experience raises the bar for them because, in the end, our record shows a whole lot more wins than losses."
The playoff experience wasn't lost on the Lady Rattlers' team leader and catcher, Baili Deaver, and she brushed aside her tears to reflect on her four years of play.
"I think this past four years was the best our team has clicked. We really had each other's backs, and our confidence in each other has gotten stronger every season," Deaver said. "We knew we would make the play, and I had confidence in my teammates whether it was batting or playing in the field. We did a lot better job of backing up our pitcher this year, and I am grateful for that."
Deaver was referring to Tryon, a sophomore hurler whose best pitching is still in front of her, and that's terrible news for District 11-2A. Tryon recorded 177 strikes over 109 innings, and a stellar 2.05 earned run average.
Hico 4 Tolar 2
Tryon toed the rubber, and Lady Rattler's hurler allowed four hits and four runs over seven innings, striking out ten, but Tolar couldn't get the scores it needed.
The Lady Rattlers pumped out seven hits but left six runners on the base paths. Deaver and Allyson Dobbs had two hits each, while Senne Imel, Grivette and Gay had one. Deaver had Tolar's only RBI.
Hico 7 Tolar 3
Tryon did the best she could to help her pitching efforts by knocking in a pair of runs on two hits, but the Lady Rattlers could only come up with four raps in a 7-3 deciding-game loss to Hico.
Tryon added six strikeouts to her pitching total and allowed three hits. Imel also had two hits, while Gay and Dobbs had one.
Russell@hcnews.com | 817-573-7066 ext. 231
