To the wire
Lady Mustangs top Hooks, take district crown
HOOKS, Texas— Hughes Springs and Hooks, two Class 3A Top 10 state-ranked softball teams, collided before a standing-room-only crowd Tuesday at Lady Hornet Field.
It all came down to one at-bat between the No. 5-ranked Lady Mustangs and the No. 10-rated Lady Hornets. Lefty slugger Shelbie Fickling against left-handed hurler Maresa Estell.
Fickling connected with an Estell fastball and sent it to the top of the right-field fence measuring 210-feet from home plate. The line-drive bounced off the top of the fence and over for the game-winning homer in Hughes Springs’ 4-1 victory.
The home run clinches the District 14-3A title outright for the Mustangs (25-2, 13-1) while Hooks settled for second place at 25-3-1, 11-3.
Redwater and New Boston were third and fourth, respectively, in 14-3A. In the bi-district round of the playoffs next week, 13-3A champion Prairiland will battle New Boston, 13-3A runner-up Mount Vernon will tangle with Redwater. Hughes Springs will clash with the No. 4 finisher and Hooks the No. 3 team when Cooper and Winnsboro settle those positions this week.
Hooks also finished runner-up in district last season, going 28-4 and reaching the fourth round of the playoff before losing 2-1 to Peaster.
Tuesday’s showdown came down to Fickling’s 2-out, 3-run round tripper, spoiling a pitcher’s duel between Estell (18-4) and righthander Zoe Lanier (13-1).
“That was certainly a huge hit and it ended up deciding the game,” Hughes Springs coach Tisha Thompson said. “It was definitely a hard hit ball and didn’t take long to
leave the park.”
It was Fickling’s third homer of the season, Thompson said.
Hooks coach Neal Kiser said it was only the second ball to be knocked out of the park since’s he’s been coaching there.
“I’ve been here five years and it was the only the second one I’ve seen to leave the yard,” he said. “I guess it wasn’t meant for us to win because we certainly had our chances. We helped them out by allowing a runner to reach on an error. Our girls played hard, but we didn’t do enough to win.”
Trailing 4-1, the Hornets tried to rally in the sixth. They loaded the bases on a single by lead-off batter Kenley Kyles, and a walk to Estell forced a pitching change, with Marisol Kennedy replacing Lanier.
Sydney Pardue greeted Kennedy (11-1), who had suffered a 6-3 loss to Hooks in the first meeting between the schools, with a popup single near second base. Kennedy, facing the meat of the Hornet lineup, got a pair of called third strikes and then got a popup to second to end the crucial scoring threat.
“Like I say, we had our chances, but we didn’t come up with the key hit when we needed it,” Kiser said. “Playing good teams in our district like Hughes Springs prepared us well for the playoffs, so we know what to expect.
“I think we have more depth, experience and maturity this year, we we’ll be ready to play when out next game comes around.”
The Mustangs managed seven hits off junior Estell. Kennedi Northam and Kensley Echols had two hits each for Hughes Springs, and Katelyn Roth added a run-scoring single in the sixth.
Hooks had five hits—four off Lanier and one off Kennedy. It was only Kennedy’s second save of the season.
“Both of them did a good job. It was a lot of pressure on Kennedy coming in and having the bases loaded and nobody out,” Thompson said. “She had to pitch her way out of that jam, and she did it.”
The Hornets took a 1-0 lead in the first inning. Estell walked, advanced to second on a groundout and was safe at third when the third baseman dropped the ball after colliding with a sliding Estell.
Korey Brooks then slapped a shallow fly into center field that a diving outfielder couldn’t catch, allowing Estell to score and give the hosts a 1-0 lead.
It stayed that way until the third when the Mustangs, who used an error, single and two outs to set the stage for Fickling’s heroics. She responded by sending a fastball fence-high out of the park.
“She’s one of our district’s better hitters and she got all of that one,” Kiser said. “Our girls are disappointed, but they’re competitors and they’ll be back. They’ve been here before and hey know what to expect.”