Lady Lions dominate Judson tournament

The Lady Lion varsity softball team traveled to San Antonio Judson this weekend to compete in an eight-team Class 5A tournament. The Lady Lions played two games each day and came home with a first place trophy.
On Thursday, the Lady Lions played San Antonio Jay. After a frightening tire blow-out on I-10 and a 20-minute warm-up, the Lady Lions never lost focus, dominati

ng the game with a 9-0 win.
Taylor Boedeker was on the mound for Lockhart, striking out 10 and giving up only one hit.
Boedeker, along with teammate Veronica Escobedo, also led the Lady Lions in hits, both going two for three. Singles came from Janie Juarez, Chelsy Martinez, Jamie Schulle, Zaida Hager, Karoline Pfefferkorn and Sam Acevedo.
In Game Two, the Lady Lions tied tournament hosts, the Judson Lady Rockets 2-2.
The Lady Lions scored first in the second inning, but had a few defensive errors in the third, which cost them two runs. Singles came from Escobedo, Juarez, Martinez, Schulle, Hager and Kassie Gaddis. Brandy Stacks added an RBI with a sacrifice fly, while Gaddis grabbed the other RBI of the game. Schulle gave up four hits from the mound, but did not allow any earned runs from inside the circle.
On Friday, the Lady Lions faced Holmes High School. Lockhart scored their only two runs in the first inning. Although they “went flat” offensively, leaving seven runners on base, the Lady Lions scored a 2-0 win.
Boedeker was three for three and Juarez, two for two. Boedeker pitched the game, giving up only three hits.
After a long, four-hour wait, the Lady Lions returned to the field to face East Central San Antonio in the first bracket game of the tournament.
Even though the Lady Lions looked a bit sluggish, they pulled off the win 2-0. The game was scoreless till the third inning, when Escobedo and Boedeker drew walks. This gave way to Juarez and Martinez, who had a single and RBI each. Defensively, Lockhart was solid, helping pitcher Schulle, who gave up only three hits.
Saturday, the Lady Lions went back up against the Lady Rockets, whom they had tied 2-2 during the pool game. This time, advancement to the championship game was on the line. Rising to the occasion, the Lady Lions took control of the game, earning their spot in the championship bracket with a 3-0 win.
Boedeker pitched a two-hitter with seven strikeouts.
Capitalizing on Judson errors, the Lady Lions’ bats were alive, with Escobedo going two for four with a double and Boedeker at two for three with a double. Amanda Capello also went two for three, Martinez picked up a double and Stacks, a single.
The championship game was emotional, stressful and exciting all in one.
The Lady Lions faced the San Antonio Holmes Lady Huskies in an exhausting ten-inning contest, with Lockhart finally emerging on top of a 12-10 score. After playing a complete seven innings the game went into international tie-breaker, where the Lady Lions fell behind 8-5.
With desire and determination, Lockhart battled back with a timely hit by Juarez to tie the game 8-8 in the ninth inning.
At the top of the tenth, the Lady Huskies went ahead, 10-8. With one more try at the plate and Martinez on second, Lockhart’s bats came alive as Capello worked her way on by error. Hager hit a line drive to right-center to score Martinez and closing Holmes’ lead to one run.
With two outs, Gaddis came to the plate with a clutch double to centerfield, scoring Hager and tying the game at 10.
Having lost their lead, the Lady Huskies panicked, making a pitching change in an attempt to throw off the Lady Lions’ bats. The move proved to be dangerous, as Stacks came through with a line drive to left field, scoring two runs.
Schulle and Boedeker pitched for the Lady Lions, with Schulle starting for three innings, and Boedeker coming in at relief, finishing the game and picking up the win.
Juarez, Pfefferkorn, Boedeker and Escobedo were all chosen to the all-tournament team. Team members were chosen by the votes of other coaches at the tournament, and each received a trophy for their efforts.
Pfefferkorn, a junior, had an impressive defensive showing, throwing out several base runners from right field. Freshman Boedeker pitched three games, striking out a total of 22 batters and collecting nine hits. Juarez, a senior, caught every game of the tournament for Lockhart and had six hits. Escobedo, another freshman, played solid defense at second base and grabbed eight hits, including four doubles, during tournament play.
(Courtesy of Alisha Homann)