Cy Ranch advances to regional quarters
Cypress Ranch pitcher Molly Yoo is on a tear this postseason.
The senior lefthander turned in another masterful performance Saturday afternoon as the Mustangs closed out their Region II-6A area playoff series against Willis with a 6-0 victory in Game 2.
Yoo tossed a three-hit, complete-game shutout, striking out 11 batters. Over four playoff games, Yoo has pitched 28 innings, allowing just three earned runs on 15 hits. She has 41 strikeouts against just seven walks.
Cypress Ranch (23-12) is headed to the regional quarterfinals for the fifth time in program history and first time since 2019.
“I think it means a lot because a lot of these girls are really young, so they haven’t gotten to experience that playoff run like I did when I was a freshman,” said Yoo, who has signed with Nicholls State. “It’s really exciting because we’ve been working so hard, and it means so much to be successful. We’ve been through a lot this season and last season, losing out in the first round. This is really big.”
The Mustangs will face either Bridgeland or Oak Ridge next week. Bridgeland, the District 16-6A champion, defeated Cypress Ranch twice during the regular season, 3-0 and 6-3, respectively.
Willis (14-18) finished the regular season in a fourway tie atop the District 13-6A standings. The Wildkats and the other teams flipped coins for seeding, and Willis ended up with the No. 3 spot. The team defeated Eisenhower 2-0 in the first round before coming up short against Cypress Ranch this week.
Shelby Tinklepaugh, who has been at Willis since 2019, took over as the head coach this season after Lyndsey Lipscomb departed for a college job. After qualifying for the playoffs, she guided the Wildkats to their eighth bi-district championship since 2010.
“It was really awesome,” Tinklepaugh said. “We set goals the first day that I was here. One was to be district champs, so it was really a cool experience to see them accomplish that, especially with how we started district. We didn’t really see ourselves ending up at the top. I did, but it just took them believing in themselves to do that.”
Cypress Ranch wasted no time in grabbing an early lead Saturday on its home field. Amarisa Garza was hit by a pitch with the bases loaded, and Alyson Greelund draw a fourpitch walk during the next at-bat for the 2-0 advantage in the first inning.
Cypress Ranch added to its total in the second as Victoria Sossaman delivered a two-out, two-run single for the 4-0 lead. The Mustangs tacked on a pair of runs in the fourth as Yoo came through with an RBI single, and Sossaman scored on a wild pitch.
That was more than enough to hold off the Wildkats.
“We just had to make sure we came out ready to play and not take them for granted,” Cypress Ranch coach Sarah Mueller said. “Willis is a great team, and I knew we had to expect them to come out ready to play. I think we did a great job of attacking at the plate, and Molly did a phenomenal job on the mound.”
Cypress Ranch rolled to a 12-4 victory in the first game of the series Friday at Willis. The Mustangs piled up 10 runs over the first three innings and got huge performance at the plate from Yoo. She went 3-for-5 with a home run and five RBIs. Vanessa Soza collected four hits from her leadoff spot.
Yoo was lights-out in the circle as well, allowing one earned run on four hits in a complete-game effort. She finished with 15 strikeouts and three walks.