Lady Lions crush competition during first week of play

This past weekend February 24-26, the Lady Lion varsity softball team placed third in the silver bracket of the Round Rock tournament. Lockhart played six games in three days winning four.

On Thursday, the Lady Lions faced Snyder, shutting them out with a 12-0 victory. Morgan Rives had a three run homerun; Briana Ortiz had a double, and Taylor Rives was 2-2 with two RBIs. T.

Rives struck out five from the circle.

In the second game, Lockhart defeated the Taylor Ducks, 9-3.

Mikaela Flores had a perfect performance at the plate, going 4-4 with a double. T. Rives was 3-4; Amanda Capello and Mackinzee Griebel each went 2-4 with a double; and Ortiz, Gabby Ybarra and Katrina Mills added singles.

Flores helped out on the mound, holding off the Ducks run production.

On Friday, the Lady Lions squared off against the Dragons from Round Rock, but fell short 10-1. Several errors and mental miscues made it hard for Lockhart to recover. Offensive highlights were M. Rives and Chelsea Capello (2-2 with a double), while A. Capello added a double.

On Saturday, Lockhart played three games.

In the first game, the Lady Lions beat Hutto 7-5.

It was a slow start for Lockhart, as they fell behind quickly 5-0. But their bats would soon liven up as Ortiz ripped a two-run blast over the centerfield fence to start the offensive rally.

T. Rives followed up by sending a screaming ball over the leftfield fence to help put more runs on the board. Supporting the hitting frenzy was A. Capello (2-3), Jessica Henderson and C. Capello (1-2), and more hits from Ortiz (3-3), and T. Rives (3-3 with two doubles).

T. Rives struck out six Lady Hippos.

In game two Lockhart played a strong-hitting Birdville team. Lockhart went down 10-0 on the board, but managed an amazing comeback in the third inning, scoring nine runs.

Henderson got the Lady Lions going, reaching base on a single. Flores then sent a deep ball over the right field fence for a two-run bomb. The momentum continued with hits from Ortiz, A. Capello, C. Capello and Griebel.

The Lady Lions fought hard, but could not pull off the win and lost 12-9.

M. Rives and Flores held pitching duties for the Lions.

In the final game of the day, Lockhart faced Lake Travis. Once again the Lady Lions trailed 5-0 due to some mistakes on defense, but Lockhart’s bats had one last spark, which led them to a 17-5 victory.
M. Rives and Flores were beasts at the plate, combining for three homeruns. M. Rives had two monster hits over the centerfield fence, while Flores had a rocket Grand Slam over the right-centerfield.

The offensive domination continued with Griebel, Ortiz and A. Capello (2-2); C. Capello with a double; and Amber Hazelett and T. Rives adding singles.

Speedy Jarin Hazelett scored seven runs for the Lady Lions throughout the tournament as a courtesy runner for catcher A. Capello. The Lady Lions racked up six homeruns for the tourney: two each for Flores and M. Rives, and one each for Ortiz and T. Rives.

Lady Lions vs. Round Rock

On Tuesday, Feb. 22, the Lady Lion varsity softball team played an exciting game against the Round Rock Lady Dragons. The Dragons would score in the first inning, followed by Lockhart evening up the score at 1-1 on an RBI single by Gabby Ybarra.

Ybarra scored C. Capello, who had reached base on a single.

In the sixth inning, Lockhart rallied two runs as Flores reached on a single followed by Ortiz with an RBI double. A. Capello then pushed another run on a single up the middle. The score settled at 3-1 in Lockhart’s favor, but the Dragons refused to give up, later pulling out to a 6-3 lead.

Working hard and pushing for every run, the Lady Lions roared back with an offensive performance started by a single from A. Capello. M. Rives reached base on a fielder’s choice, while C. Capello scored her off an error committed by the Dragons shortstop. Ybarra sent a ball into right field, followed by the “hot” bat of Flores, who ripped a double in the gap to score two runs for Lockhart.

Griebel continued the rally, rattling defense with her speed causing the Dragons to commit another error, which scored Flores.

The Lady Lions turned around to pull a 7-6 victory.

From the circle, T. Rives struck out seven of the skilled Lady Dragon hitters.

Lady Lions at Bryan Tourney

On Feb. 17-19, the Lady Lion varsity softball team traveled to Bryan College Station to participate in the annual Bryan tournament. The ladies played Dobie, Taylor, Round Rock, Lorena, and Port Neches Grove.

Lockhart won two of the five, defeating Lorena and Taylor. Highlights from the tourney include: Ortiz with two homeruns (five RBIs); T. Rives with two homeruns (four RBIs); and A. Capello with a homerun (two RBIs). Flores pounded four doubles, and Griebel had a triple. Pitching for the Lions were T. Rives, M. Rives and Lilly Dupert.

(Courtesy of Alicia Homann)