WALL, TX-- The Wall Lady Hawks are into the Class 3A Region I Quarterfinals of the UIL softball playoffs. Awaiting them is arguably the best team they’ve faced, the Alpine Lady Bucks.
“We know Alpine is good,” Wall head coach Steve Bain said, “but our girls worked hard to get to this point and they’re up for the challenge. They know how good they are.”
On paper, both teams look evenly matched. After all, they both made it to the Regional Semifinals a year ago.
“You’ve just got to roll with what you’ve got,” Bain said. “At this point, I think it comes down to minimizing your mistakes defensively because [Alpine] is going to hit the ball...If we can minimize the mistakes, make the routine plays and make some plays here and there, good things will happen to us.”
Alpine and Wall are both sitting on 24 wins. Both teams are also riding 14-game win streaks that date back to early March. During that stretch the Lady Hawks have limited opponents to just under two runs per game while Alpine has held opponents to a similar 1.6 runs per game.
Run production is another area where both teams are level pegging through their first three games this postseason. Alpine is just behind Wall in the category with an average of 12 runs per game while the Lady Hawks have posted an average of 13 runs per game.
Add on to that the fact that both teams have the ability to hit throughout their lineup. Alpine is hitting .393 as a team during this postseason while the Lady Hawks have hit the cover off the ball in the playoffs with a .470 clip.
“[Alpine] hits the ball well, they play great defense and they have great pitchers,” Bain said. “It’s going to be tough. We’ve got a challenge.”
Keyshia Vargas has seen most of the action in the circle for Alpine in the playoffs, throwing 14-and-a-third innings where she has allowed just six hits and five runs for the Lady Bucks while striking out 11 batters.
On the other side, the Lady Hawks have the ability to mix things up in the circle with a three-headed pitching monster in Izzy Vera, Kenzee Smith and Madi Herrera.
“I don’t know if that creates an advantage, but we can go to all three at any time,” Bain said. “If we have to make a switch, we can make a switch. If I had to say, that would be our advantage.”
Smith and Vera have seen the lion’s share of work for the Lady Hawks with 14.2 innings between them. Smith has been more aggressive in the playoffs, striking out eight batters while Vera pitches to contact and allows her defense to make plays as her one run allowed shows.
Herrera saw her first action of the postseason in 2.1 innings of the second game against Idalou in the Area Round. The senior allowed one hit and struck out another during that time.
Both teams also have sluggers who set the tone for their lineup, as well.
Ashlynn Box boasts a .555 batting average, .667 on-base percentage and 10 RBIs while making play after play in the field at the hot corner for the Lady Hawks.
“She is a really neat player,” Bain said of his third baseman. “She’s a very special player. To have somebody like that is really special. It’s a privilege to coach somebody like that. She’s very humble. She doesn’t like to talk about it. She lets her work show on the field. That’s the way she works.”
Camryn Hardin, much like Box for Wall, boasts an incredible .545 batting average for Alpine while occupying their leadoff spot in the batting order. She has also posted six RBIs while not striking out or walking this postseason.
With the way Region I is set up in both the high school and summer ball, the Lady Hawks and Lady Bucks know each other very well despite this being their first meeting in the postseason since 2014.
“We’re both very talented teams and it’s going to be a great matchup,” Box said. “It’s going to be a really exciting series.”
Box would go on to say she thinks this best-of-three series will go the distance because of how evenly matched the squads are.
The series kicks off at 6 p.m. Friday, May 11, at Stanton High School. Game two will be on Saturday at noon in Stanton with game three to follow 30 minutes after game two if needed.
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