The Houston Lady Tigers will wait at least another year for the softball program’s first district victory.
Competing in the postseason for just the second time, the third-seeded Lady Tigers committed eight errors and were upset last Wednesday by No. 6 Willow Springs 9-6 in eight innings in the Class 2 District 3 tournament.
“I’ve been telling the girls that most of these games will come down to which team makes the least amount of mistakes,” Lady Tigers coach Willy Walker said. “It is unfortunate that our game at districts happened to be one of them.”
Houston (11-12) lost its last three games of the season to finish under .500. Ironically, the Lady Tigers’ last victory was an extra-innings win the previous week against Willow Springs.
The Lady Tigers managed just two hits — singles by Kaylea Preheim and Belle Knarr — in their district opener. But they manufactured runs by drawing six walks and stealing eight bases. Freshman Maddie Vandiver had four steals.
Behind 5-1 after four innings, Houston tied it with four runs in the fifth. Taylor Franklin, Vandiver and Kayla Kelley walked and Carmen Floyd was hit by a pitch leading off the inning. All four scored.
The game was tied 6-all entering the eighth. Willow Springs scored three times with the help of two Houston errors.
Walker said mistakes twice extended innings and led to runs.
“We were in two different situations with two outs and had an error on a routine play that let two runs score each time,” he said.
Floyd gave up four hits in the complete-game loss. She struck out five and walked none.
Walker hopes a year of experience will make a difference for his young team, which started six freshmen. The entire team will be eligible to return next season.
“I feel the ball is in our court now,” Walker said. “We just need to be willing to work for it in the offseason. We’ll need to stay focused. That means everyone — not just players. Parents and faculty members play an important part in a successful program.”
