Versatile Cobb led Katy to state title
Chloe Cobb showed out for Katy both in the circle and at the plate during her senior season. Her biggest impact was arguably with a bat, though.
She is the Chronicle’s All-Greater Houston Softball Hitter of the Year.
Cobb went into the 6A state tournament hitting .605 and walked out a state champion. She finished with a .602 average with 59 RBIs and 11 home runs. Nineteen of Cobb’s hits were doubles and 31 were extra-base hits.
She struck out just seven times this year.
Katy won its second state title since 2015. Cobb will play at Texas Tech.
“We’re going to miss a player that bats over .500 every year,” Katy coach Kalum Haack said. “We’re going to miss a player that hits 12 home runs every year. We’re going to miss a player that during the regular season pitches every other game and in the playoffs pitches the middle game. We’re going to lose a player that leads the team in RBIs. It’ll be almost impossible to replace her because of all the things she’s done. She’s one of the top three players I think that has ever come through here.
Q: People dream of going out with a bang their senior year. You lived it. How would you describe that accomplishment?
A: “The previous three years, we’ve lost in the (Regional Finals). I think being a senior and us eight seniors, I think that really pushed us. We kind of made it personal, like, ‘We have got to get to this tournament, we need to win state.’ … We would always say, ‘We need to go out with a bang. We need to win this.’ So, I think finally getting to where we wanted to be and finally, like, ending it how we wanted to just meant the world to every single one of us.”
Q: Who was the first person you thought of when you won state?
A: Sophomore year, when we lost against Deer Park, I think that was one of the hardest losses, for me … After that game, I can just remember crying, bawling and I went up to coach Haack and he gave me this big long hug and we kind of just talked about the game. He was like, “I’m so proud of you, don’t ever forget that.’ … This year, before the season even started, he came up and talked to me and he was like, ‘It’s your senior year and you know I want this for y’all.’ He was like, ‘I want to hug you in Austin the same way that we did after the Deer Park game, but you’re crying because you’re happy, not because you’re sad.’ And as soon as we won, I just remember looking at him and he was smiling. And after the game, I went up to him and I gave him a hug and he was like, ‘I’m so proud of you, this is what you’ve worked for, you’ve worked so hard.’ So I think probably thought of Haack first, just for that moment.”
Q: What’s going on in your mind when you step up to the plate?
A: “My team. Like, I don’t want it for anybody else but my team. I know, going into every single game this year, I just wanted it so bad for everyone else. Not only me, but the coaches, other girls, everyone involved, the band … It all started in the off-season and I hit after school and I’d really do whatever I could just so, like, when that big moment came, I’d be ready for it. So I mean, stepping into the box I just try to be as comfortable as I can be.”
Q: What was the biggest challenge you faced this season?
A: “In the off-season, I was at a tournament in Florida and I had tweaked my back. I knew something was off, like it hurt but I wasn’t terrible. As the day went on, it got to where I couldn’t even walk, I couldn’t stand up straight and I was super worried, like, I had never felt a pain like that before. When I got home, I went to the doctor and we had an MRI and all that and I found out that I had a herniated disc ... I knew I could play again, but I wasn’t sure, like, how soon I could get started. But, seeing my team practice, like without me at the beginning of the season and seeing them in the offseason running without me, it hurt, like super bad. So, coming back from that obstacle, I think it made me want to work even harder, because I missed that much, like I missed four or five months. So I think it really pushed me to work harder.”