The Tioga Lady Bulldogs softball team bounced back from a tough loss to the Honey Grove Warriors, reeling off three district wins over Tom Bean, Sam Rayburn and Whitewright.
The Lady Bulldogs used a combination of hitting, strong pitching and stout defense to pile up the victories during their winning streak, starting with a 15-12 win over the Lady Tomcats on March 7.
“We came off of Honey Grove, who we didn’t hit well against, but we went into Tom Bean doing the opposite,” head softball coach Halie Martin said. “Our bats were hot, and we had four home runs off their main pitcher, which was huge.”
Tom Bean struck first with big hits from pitcher Bailey Daniel and first baseman Alex- andra Mauriello, putting the Lady Tom Cats up 4-0 in the top of the first inning.
Tioga cut into the lead in the bottom of the first, scoring 3 runs off of a single from shortstop Kenzee Powers and an inside-thepark home run from center fielder Kyndall Whitley to make it a one-run game at 4-3.
The Lady Bulldogs tied the game at 4 in the bottom of the second inning when outfielder Kennedy Slay sent a fly ball over the center field wall.
Tioga took the lead in the next inning, with a 6-0 scoring run sparked by a solo home run by catcher Kaylee Evans followed by a three-run homer from Powers, putting the Lady Bulldogs up 10-4.
The Lady Tomcats roared back out into the lead with a 7-0 run and retook the lead 11-10 in the top of the fifth inning.
The Lady Bulldogs battled back behind a triple from Powers and a tworun home run from Whitley to retake the lead 14-- 11.
Tom Bean added another run late in the game, but Tioga held on to win 15-12.
Martin said the team has worked hard to be well balanced, which gives the Lady Bulldogs multiple ways to win.
“We struggled with that at the beginning of the year, being able to pick up our own slack, but we’ve been able to make big adjustments,” she said. “We're slowly getting to where we need to be in that department, being able to have our pitchers back, whether it's defensively or whether it's offensively, and we’re able to strap up some runs when we need to.”
The Lady Bulldogs followed up the win over Tom Bean with a 12-4 win over the Sam Rayburn Lady Rebels on Monday and a 7-3 victory over the Whitewright Lady Tigers on Tuesday.
“After Honey Grove, we opened our eyes and said, ‘We know what we’re doing wrong, and we have to make a switch,” Martin said. “Since then, I’ve seen more intensity and more [focus] in and out of practice. The girls are putting in the reps, and that definitely showed in Whitewright. We went in not being sure how that game would go, but we handled it well. We were mentally tough and great at the plate.”
Martin highlighted Whitley, Slay, Evans, Powers and pitcher Abbie Benke as major contributors to the Lady Bulldogs’ recent winning streak and said the wins will help the team as they enter the home stretch of their district schedule.
“We’re a young team,” she said. “We have two seniors, a junior and everyone else is an underclassman, so building that mental strength going into all of these big games is huge.”
The Lady Bulldogs will hit the road to face the Dodd City Lady Hornets at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday.
