New outfield boosts Hays
Trio seeks first title one year after Rebels won 4Astate crown.
Hays High’s softball team is making another run at a Class 4A state championship, and plenty of familiar faces are leading the charge.
Senior pitcher Sarah Leal, the All-Central Texas player of the year in 2013, is back in the circle. Key contributors such as catcher Haleigh Madden and middle infielders Maddy Shannon and Addie Vayas also have returned.
But the Lady Rebels’ outfield has a new look this spring.
Hays graduated four starters from last year’s title team, and three of them were outfielders. The Lady Rebels opened the 2014 season with a quartet of juniors manning the outfield spots: Angelica Arroyo was in left, Kara Davis settled in center and Aspen Salazar and Lizzie Bowne split time in right.
A broken foot, though, cost Davis her season, and a stroke sidelined Salazar for much of the past two months. She has since returned in a reserve role and contributed a single in a bi-district playoff game against San Antonio Jefferson). So Hays will head into its regional championship series against Medina Valley with Bowne in right field, Arroyo in in center and freshman Lulu Arroyo in left .
Bowne is hitting .303 this spring, and Angelica Arroyo has contributed a .404 average and 29 runs scored. The Arroyo sisters have shined after being shifted from shortstop. Angelica was the junior varsity shortstop in 2013, and Lulu filled that role this season until Davis’ injury in April.
Home field advantage: Liberty Hill opened a new high school this fall, and the campus came equipped with a new baseball field. The pitcher’s mound at the Panthers’ new home is the only part of the playing surface that isn’t covered in artificial turf.
Liberty Hill will play Lubbock Cooper this weekend in a regional-semifinal series, and the Panthers are only two rounds away from reaching the state baseball tournament. The Class 3A tournament will be played at UFCU Disch-Falk Field, which also uses an artificial-turf surface.
Will the Panthers have an advantage if they reach state for the first time?
“We’ve talked about it, but we haven’t really thought 100 percent (about it),” said Liberty Hill pitcher Marshall Brown. “We have to get through this week and go into the next one.”
Under the radar: Each week, we’ll introduce you to a player who is making big plays despite not having a big name. This week, we’re taking a look at San Marcos sophomore Ciandra Kinere.
Led by senior sluggers Stephanie Marmolejo and Vianey Villalpando, San Marcos’ softball team has averaged 6.3 runs per game in the postseason, but Kinere also has given the Rattlers’ offense a boost.
In her second varsity season, Kinere is hitting .376 with five homers, 29 RBIs and 26 runs scored. Kinere generally bats as the designated player, but she also is San Marcos’ backup pitcher and first baseman.
San Marcos (31-9) will face San Antonio Southwest in a Class 5A regional championship series that opens Thursday.
Where are they now? Every week, we will spotlight the collegiate accomplishments of a few of our area alums. If you know of someone who should be featured in this segment, drop me an email at danieldavis@statesman.com.
■ Southwestern University sophomore Colten Shea (Georgetown, 2012) stole 18 bases this spring. Shea also led the university’s football team with 49 receptions this past fall.
■ Arkansas-Monticello junior pitcher Katie Slaughter (Anderson, 2011) compiled 15 of her team’s 28 wins this season.
■ Rhodes College sophomore golfer Meg Healy (Westlake, 2012) recently led the Lynx to the NCAA Division III team championship.