Houston softball coach Willy Walker said he had no expectations for his young team entering postseason play. He hopes his players feel the same way.
“I think that’s just added pressure that we don’t need,” Walker said. “We just need to go up there and play.”
Houston, the No. 3 seed in Class 2 District 3, opened district play Wednesday night against sixth-seeded Willow Springs at Hartville. The semifinals are Thursday, followed by Friday’s 5 p.m. championship.
Results will be available online at www.houstonherald.com. If the Lady Tigers won their opener, they will play the Hartville-Plato winner at 5:45 p.m. today (Thursday).
Walker is hopeful his young players — six of the nine starters are freshmen — will embrace the pressure of playing in their first district tournament.
“We won’t be able to get nervous or flustered,” Walker said. “If it doesn’t happen, I feel like we’ll have a chance to beat anyone in our district.”
The Lady Tigers (11-11) faced Willow Springs for the second time in less than a week. Last Thursday, Megan Crewse led off the top of the eighth inning with a walk and eventually scored to give Houston a 9-8 extra-innings victory.
Houston managed just four hits against a pitcher Walker said was easily the slowest his team had faced this season. Carmen Floyd had an inside-the-park home run, and Kaylea Preheim and Crewse each singled.
The Lady Tigers are accustomed to close games. They have won eight games by 11 combined runs. Three were in extra innings.
“Every time we win a close game, I think we’re closer to our luck running out,” Walker said.
On Monday, the Lady Tigers lost 8-1 to visiting Bakersfield.
The district’s top seed, Gainesville, lost 10-2 to Bakersfield. The Lady Tigers trailed 4-0 through five innings before giving up four runs in the sixth.
Kayla Kelley produced Houston’s lone run with an RBI double to score Taylor Franklin, who walked.
On Tuesday, Newburg scored 11 first-inning runs en route to a 14-2 victory against Houston.
Kelley and Franklin each tripled for the Lady Tigers’ lone hits.
Walker didn’t like playing consecutive days before the district tournament began. But he believes his team has an opportunity to succeed in the postseason.
A victory would be the first in program history. The Lady Tigers lost in the opening round of last year’s tournament in their first-ever district appearance.
“Everyone should have an opportunity to win,” Walker said. “I think everyone feels that way.”
Class 2 District 3 softball tournament bracket
