Clear Falls uses rally to thwart Dobie bid
Knights erase 3-run deficit with 4-run sixth inning
Clear Falls’ improbable come-from-behind win hardly seemed real in the emotional aftermath Friday night at Clear Springs.
The Dobie Longhorns certainly didn’t want to believe the outcome was real.
They led by three runs, and their pitcher, Alana Ortega, had a no-hitter going into the sixth inning — when the Knights erupted for four runs and seized a 4-3 win in a one-game arearound playoff.
“I’m absolutely elated that my kids didn’t give up when they could have,” Clear Falls coach Kimberly Partin said. “Dobie came out on fire, they were super hungry for this game, and they had the better part of the first through fifth innings on us, and after scoring their second and third runs, they could have rolled over, but they chose not to.
“They chose to play for each other and give all they’ve got.”
Now they’re moving on to the third round for the first time in school history.
The Knights (19-11) will face Kingwood or George Ranch next week in the Region III-6A softball quarterfinals.
Dobie ended its season at 23-9.
“That is epic because this year, when we set out, we weren’t expected to be much,” Partin said. “But the girls decided they were going to make a pact to fight for each other no matter what adversity came up.”
They faced plenty of it through five innings.
Dobie’s Taylor Pleasants sent the first pitch she saw over the left-field fence for a solo home run.
And the Knights couldn’t do anything against Ortega, who limited them to no hits and three walks through five innings, which made the Longhorns’ 3-0 lead appear nearly insurmountable.
They tacked on their extra runs in the fifth.
After Leslie Longoria singled with one out, reliever Ashlyn Strother intentionally walked Pleasants, and then Jacquelyne Garcia came up clutch, sending a two-run double to left field for a three-run lead.
But the Knights didn’t surrender.
“We’ve got to give props to Dobie’s pitcher,” Partin said. “She came out throwing lights-out, hitting her spots, doing a really great job keeping my hitters offbalance. But the girls decided to hunker down and be more disciplined at the plate instead of swinging at balls we knew were not strikes.”
Katie Hoke started the sixth with a walk, Baylee Freudenberg plated her with a double and scored on Juli Niedermaier’s single, and Aaliyah Garcia supplied a game-winning two-run triple to left.
“They got up there and had fun instead of pressing and feeling like they had to do it,” Partin said.