Mustangs make short work of Knights in regional quarters
Offense clicks, gives Lindsey lots of help in run-ruled triumph
Maddie Lindsey paused the action at one point Friday night to have a coach help her adjust her pitching mask.
The plate umpire offered his mask to her.
She declined — and that was the only issue Kingwood’s Baylor-bound pitcher encountered. The senior faced only four batters over the minimum in a twohit shutout, and the Mustangs rolled into the regional semifinals with a 10-0, five-inning win over Clear Falls in the Class 6A Region III matchup at Crosby.
“I like our bats right now, and our pitching,” Kingwood coach Lauren Hendrix said. “We have an edge with our pitching every game, and then our bats, in our first four playoff games, produced 48 runs. I feel pretty good about that.”
Add 10 more to the total after Friday’s game, with center fielder Ashley York pacing the explosive offense. She went 3-for-4 with a run-scoring triple and the game-winning RBI in the sixth.
The sophomore helped Kingwood (32-9) take a 2-0 lead in the first, which also included Haley Lee’s run-scoring single.
“Our goal is to score first,” Hendrix said. “When we can do that and put pressure on the other team, that gives Maddie an edge, and she can go out there and really feel relaxed.”
Hendrix said every Mustangs player was relaxed Friday. It showed in their play, as they scored three runs in the third, four in the fourth and one more to end it early in the fifth.
The Mustangs cranked out nine hits in five innings.
“That’s a great sign moving forward,” Hendrix said. “I had a good feeling about this game from the start of the today.
“The kids have been loose from the beginning. I can’t explain it, but I knew by the way they were acting in our warm-up they came to play.”
They stayed aggressive on the basepaths, with six stolen bases.
Clear Falls pitcher Ashlyn Strother absorbed the loss, surrendering nine runs on seven hits, with three walks and three hit batsmen.
Knights pitchers beaned four batters total — with Jourdyn Campbell being the victim three times.
“I don’t know what that was, but we’ll take it,” Hendrix said.
Next up for the Mustangs, who are in the regional semifinals for the fourth time in six years, is Katy or Ridge Point.
“Last year we got knocked out in the third round, but every year is a new year, so we’re excited to be in the fourth round again,” Hendrix said.