San Antonio Express-News (Sunday)
Late runs end Rockets’ season
Judson’s softball team came into its matchup against Austin Bowie on Friday night riding a 12game winning streak and the Rockets had won 14 of their last 15 outings.
However, the Bulldogs stopped Judson’s momentum and ended the Rockets’ season with a 4-2 loss in a Class 6A second round playoff at Clemens.
“We made some uncharacteristic mistakes tonight and I think we just felt some pressure,” Judson head coach Theresa Urbanovsky said. “We didn’t execute offensively early on in the game and I think that put some pressure on us late. That led to some errors that weren’t the way we played for most of this year. We made some small mistakes and they ended up costing us.”
Bowie (22-7) next will take on either MacArthur or Lake Travis next week in the regional quarterfinals. The Bulldogs have won nine of their last 10 and 14 of their last 16 contests.
All of Judson and Bowie’s runs came in the sixth inning, but both teams had opportunities to score earlier in the game. In the top of the first, Judson’s Mimi Thornton reached on a one-out error, and rather than letting her No. 3 batter swing away in hopes of generating a big inning, Urbanovsky called for a sacrifice bunt, which was promptly popped up, halting the rally. The Rockets (236-1) got a pair of two-out walks in the third, but a first-pitch popup snuffed out that scoring opportunity as well.
Another missed opportunity came an inning later when a leadoff walk went for naught, as a popped up bunt, strikeout and a deep flyout to center field kept Judson off the board.
“I expected the game to be close and I wanted to get the first run,” Urbanovsky said. “I wanted to get the first run and put some pressure on them. I knew we could get some hits off their pitcher and we did, eventually.”
Judson pitcher Emily Ayala had a perfect game for 31⁄3 innings before giving up a one-out double to Valeria Feeney. Ayala got a lineout and groundout sandwiched around an intentional walk to get out of the jam and keep the game scoreless.
Bowie had another chance in the fifth when the leadoff hitter reached on an error, but two popups to the catcher and a strikeout kept it 0-0 through five innings.
The Rockets finally broke through in the top of the sixth. The left-handed hitting Thornton led off the frame with a solo homer just to the right side of dead center field to put Judson up, 1-0. Ayala singled and was replaced by courtesy runner Molly McDaniel. Destiny Rodriguez walked, and Queen Dunn laid down a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third with one out. Tessie Henderson then lifted a sacrifice fly that brought home McDaniel and made it 2-0 Rockets going into the bottom of the sixth.
Cassidy McLean led off the inning for Bowie with a double to left field, and Feeney added a double of her own to trim Judson’s lead to 2-1. Taylor Haywood
reached on a Rocket error to put runners on first and third with none out. After an intentional walk, Ayala got a strikeout, making the situation bases loaded with one out. The next batter hit a ground ball and the Judson fielder chose to get a force out before throwing home late, allowing Bowie to tie the game at 2 and leave runners on first and second with two outs. Up to bat stepped Emerson Villa, who doubled to right center field to bring home two runs and put the Bulldogs ahead 4-2.
Judson had one last shot in the top of the seventh, but a leadoff walk went for naught, as Bowie pitcher Emma Solis induced a popup and struck out a pair of batters to end the game and Judson’s season.
“We did a lot of good things this season,” Urbanovsky said. “This loss doesn’t define our program. This group of seniors helped bring this program to a new level and opened up a lot of doors for the future. Seeing the women they’re becoming is great, and what I’m most proud of is them being so much more now than what they were when they started.”
Ayala took the loss for the Rockets in the circle, allowing four runs (two earned) on four hits with 10 strikeouts and two walks in six innings. Thornton’s homer and Ayala’s single were the Rockets’ only two hits of the contest.
Solis got the win for Bowie, giving up two runs (both earned) on two hits with 10 strikeouts and five walks in seven innings of work. Feeney was 2-for-3 with two doubles, a run and an RBI. Villa had a two-run double, and McLean’s single accounted for Bowie’s hits in the game.