Baseball / Softball
Lady Jackets play Arlington Sequin Thursday
By Staff reports
May 2, 2005 - 8:54:00 AM

With a 1-0 victory over White Settlement's Brewer High School, the Lady Jackets softball team accomplished what preseason polls indicated was impossible--a district championship.

Taking advantage of two Lady Bears errors in the eighth inning, the team walked away with the victory and its first ever district championship.

"The girls deserved to win," head coach Teri Rabe said. "They have wanted this all year. They never gave up."

Pitcher Katie Cowan's control of the game never waivered despite loading the bases in the eighth inning.

"I just pitched my game and didn't worry too much about the baserunners," the freshman right hander said.

Senior outfielder Terrin Glenn looks up from the bottom of a pile of Lady Jackets after the team won its first ever district championship. Photo by Brenda Davis

Going into the eighth inning, the two teams were deadlocked 0-0. Each team missed opportunities to score in the earlier innings and the pitching was equal on both sides.

The Lady Jackets opened the eighth inning with Kylie Wallace reaching first on an error. Kala Taylor's sacrifice moved Wallace to second. Skye Stamey laid down a bunt moving Wallace to third.

Brewer's Brittany Turner struck out Amberley Waits for the second out, but a high fastball that skimmed off catcher Mallory McDaniel's glove allowed Wallace to score from third and break the tie.

"I saw the ball pass the catcher and heard Coach Rabe say run and I did," Wallace said. "It felt so awesome."

Rabe credited the crowd with encouraging the team to not give up when bases were loaded in Brewer's half of the eighth inning.

"The crowd was roaring so loud that the girls could not hear me," Rabe said. "Katie pitched a great game, and all the girls played their best. The desire to win has been there all year. They just never gave up."

The Lady Jackets face Arlington Sequin at 7 p.m. Thursday in Burleson.