Game 1 Box Score /
Game 2 Box Score /
Game 3 Box Score
LEWISVILLE, Texas – The day started with a shocking loss but ended with the Louisiana College Lady Wildcats still alive in the hunt for an American Southwest Conference Tournament Championship.
After falling 2-1 to Mary Hardin-Baylor in a game that ended on a triple-play by the Cru, LC rebounded to defeat Concordia 4-0 and East Texas Baptist 7-2 to twice stave off elimination and set up a rematch with UMHB Saturday at 11 a.m. with a berth in the championship game on the line.
Early Friday afternoon, it seemed like a spot in the championship game might be, at best, a remote possibility after LC loaded the bases with no one out in the seventh inning of its game against UMHB before hitting into a triple play, but the never-say-die Lady Wildcats rallied for back-to-back wins.
“It just goes to show how positive this team is,” LC senior outfielder Jodi Montagnino said. “We faced a lot of adversity losing on a crazy, triple play that no one here had ever seen, but we came back and won two games.”
As impressive to LC coach Tim Whitman was that his Lady Wildcats were able to overcome a 2-0 deficit early in their game against ETBU, their third game of the day.
“Emotionally, (the UMHB loss) was draining,” Whitman said. “Don't get me wrong, we struggled in that first game, but it looked like we were going to rally at the end before we hit into a freaky play. We were able to regroup and get a win over Concordia and, when we got to ETBU, I think both of us were fatigued and emotionally spent. Then, we fell behind 2-0 in the first inning. That's what really tested our will.”
The last time LC had faced ETBU, it fell to the Lady Tigers 8-0 in the regular-season finale. Friday, it was the Lady Wildcats' turn to post a convincing win after scoring seven unanswered to close the game.
“We were a totally different team this time,” Montagnino said. “We wanted to get back at them a little bit after the last time. We had some motivation in this game.”
Junior Kelly Williams, who took the tough luck loss in the Mary-Hardin Baylor game, got the win against ETBU.
“I really wanted to get a win today,” Williams said. “That first game left a sour taste in my mouth.”
The Lady Wildcats will have a chance to permanently purge their pallets of any bad tastes if they can win three games in one day on Saturday, one against Mary Hardin-Baylor and back-to-back against rival Texas-Tyler, the requirement if they are to win the ASC crown.
“We all believe that we can do it,” Williams said. “We just need to hit as a team, make plays on defense and pitch like we know we can.”
“Heck yeah we can do it,” Montagnino said. “We have the heart and the ability. We know Mary Hardin-Baylor and Texas-Tyler and they know us, we've all played each other four or five times this year. It's just a matter of which team shows up ready to play. We've got to get past Mary Hardin-Baylor first, though. We have to take it one game at a time.”
