Deer Park sweeps Cinco Ranch
After a poor February weekend that included three losses in six games, Deer Park coach Carrie Austgen had seen enough.
Yes, her team is the reigning Class 5A state champion, but the Lady Deer needed to put that behind them. So Austgen put her state ring in a bag and left it there.
Deer Park’s captains got everyone together and told teammates that their 2012 success wasn’t going to help. The Lady Deer haven’t lost since.
That includes Saturday’s 6-3 victory over Cinco Ranch in the second game of the teams’ Class 5A Region III semifinal series at the University of Houston. Deer Park swept the series and advances to the championship round, where it will face Brazoswood next week.
A lot has changed for Deer Park (35-4) since that weekend at Pearland. The Lady Deer are two victories away from a return to the state tournament.
“We had some beat-up kids, and we were not sharp,” Austgen said. “We were not us.”
Deer Park has been dealing with being the hunted team all season. Haley Harrison, who had two RBI doubles Saturday, said having that role has helped the Lady Deer.
“Having a target on our back gives us momentum and more desire to win the game,” Harrison said
The Lady Deer faced more adversity Saturday. Cinco Ranch (29-9) took an early 1-0 lead after a Deer Park throwing error in the third inning.
Deer Park wasted no time gaining the momentum. Payton McBride hit a three-run homer and Harrison added a two RBI double later to give the Lady Deer all they needed.
Cinco Ranch cut the deficit to 5-3 on a two-run homer in the sixth. But thanks to Harrison’s second RBI double, Deer Park took a three-run lead to the home half of the seventh.
Cinco Ranch had a final chance to cut into the lead after loading the bases with two outs. Clean-up batter Brittany Nollkamper got ahead in the count against Deer Park’s Caitlini Plocheck, but never swung the bat because of a baserunning mistake by her teammate on third. The runner broke for home on a wild pitch, but was thrown out retreating to third. Corey Roepken is a freelance writer