STANTON, TX—The Wall Lady Hawks were able to force a do-or-die game three in their Class 3A Region I Quarterfinal series against the Alpine Lady Bucks, but were unable to win the third matchup of the two teams.
The Lady Hawks held off a late Alpine rally to win the second game 16-15 before falling just short in a 12-9 loss in game three on Saturday.
“We always talked about being mentally tough and finishing. That’s what these girls did,” Wall Head Coach Steve Bain said proudly. “They have so much heart, so much guts. They never give up. That’s always been their mentality. We fought until the very end and gave ourselves a shot. That’s all you can ask for.”
Senior Kenzee Smith, who is heading to Alpine to play collegiately at Sul Ross State University, put forth a valiant effort in the circle for the Lady Hawks. Smith threw eight-and-two-thirds innings and allowing just six earned runs in a series where runs were easy to come by.
That effort was echoed throughout the field by the Lady Hawks during their 2018 campaign.
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Above: Wall’s Lexi Valles (L), Ashley Dusek (M) and coach Chris Schlicke (R) celebrate a double play against Alpine. May 12, 2018 (LIVE! Photo/Sam Fowler)
“They thrive on each other,” Bain said. “If one of them is doing good, the others feed off that. They play for each other and want to do good for each other. They don’t want to let anybody down.”
The Lady Hawks jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the top of the first in the first game Saturday thanks, in part, to a two-run double by Ashlynn Box. Izzy Vera and the Lady Hawk defense held Alpine scoreless in the first frame thanks to a strikeout and a lineout double play.
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Above: Wall’s Lexi Valles drills a homerun against Alpine. May 12, 2018 (LIVE! Photo/Sam Fowler)
The two teams went scoreless in the second before resuming the scoring in the third inning. Ashlynn Box scored on a throwing error by Annika Canaba before Lexi Valles tattooed a two-run homerun to right-center field to go up 7-0.
Alpine would answer in the bottom of the inning with four runs to cut Wall’s lead to 7-4. Wall would lead until the bottom of the fifth inning when Alpine took a narrow 11-10 lead.
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A six-run sixth inning, highlighted by another two-run double by Ashlynn Box, put Wall back in front for good, but not without work.
Alpine plated four runs in the seventh inning to pull within one run. However, a pair of ground outs by the Lady Bucks ended game two.
Izzy Vera was credited with the win in that game with two-and-a-third innings of work where she allowed four runs on a pair of hits. Smith went four-and-two-third innings and threw 105 pitches with no decision.
The Lady Hawks found themselves in an early 2-0 hole after the first inning when Alpine’s Keyshla Vargas crushed her fourth homerun of the series to drive in two runs. The two teams went down in order in the second inning.
The Lady Hawks took the lead in the top of the third inning after Ashlynn Box hit yet another two-run double to drive in her ninth and tenth RBIs of the series before Lexi Valles gave Wall the 3-2 lead on an RBI double to score Box from second.
Alpine would take a rather commanding 7-3 lead in the same inning with three unearned runs coming home before Macy Molsbee’s two-run shot to center field.
The Lady Hawks answered with five runs in the fourth before four more runs came across for Alpine in the bottom of the inning to give Alpine an 11-8 lead.
An RBI single by Kandace Aguilar began to bridge the gap between the Lady Hawks an Alpine at 11-9, but an RBI ground-out by April Watley extended Alpine’s lead to 12-9 erased the ground Wall had made up and ultimately doomed the Lady Hawks.
Ashlynn Box finished the doubleheader 4-for-5 at the plate with six RBIs. Lexi Valles was 5-for-9 at the plate with five RBIs.
While their season came to an end, the Lady Hawks did so in record-breaking fashion. The series set a new record for most combined runs in a three-game series for the UIL Class 3A softball playoffs with 91 runs scored between Alpine and Wall. Records of the postseason are kept back to 1994.
“I’ve never been a part of anything like this,” Bain smiled. “What these kids did yesterday and what they did today was unbelievable.”
The Lady Hawks and Alpine also put their names high in the record books with their 27-12 thriller yesterday.
The Lady Hawks finished the season 25-6-1 as seniors Rylee Morales, Ashley Dusek, Lexi Valles, Kenzee Smith, Kandace Aguilar and Madi Herrera played their final games for Wall.
Alpine will face Brock in the Region I Semifinal.
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