Girls finish at quarterfinals
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lady Lions had their deepest run in the Class 2A softball playoffs since 2018 come to an end last week with a three-game loss to Hamlin in the regional quarterfinals at McMurry University’s Edwards Field.
“We finally got the program back to where it’s accustomed to being after a couple of years hiatus with a big playoff run,” Lady Lions coach Jimmy Fuentes said. “It was good to have that happen, especially for this group of seniors who’ve dealt with a lot of adversity throughout their careers.”
Albany won the series opener 10-7 on Thursday, May 12, before dropping the last two games 8-7 and 10-8 on Saturday, May 14.
The Lady Lions finished the season 15-15-1 overall, placing second in District 8-2A behind Cisco.
Hamlin will face Colorado City in the regional semifinals.
All three games of the regional quarterfinal series were close with the lead changing hands five times. Both teams totaled 25 runs in the series.
“The girls finished the season the way they started,” Fuentes said. “They played well this series, just didn’t catch some breaks and came up on the short end. I’m proud of the way they played all season.”
In Game 1, Gracie Price went 3 for 4 with four RBIs, while Ansleigh Garcia was 2 for 4 with two RBIs to lead the offense. Robin Lucas and Carisa Barrera were both 2 for 4 with Haily Cox, Ana Balliew, and Sara Smith adding hits.
Albany built a 5-1 lead in the third inning before Hamlin rallied to take a 6-5 lead in the fifth. The Lady Lions regained the lead on Garcia’s two-run single in the bottom of the fifth and added some insurance on Price’s two-run single in the sixth.
Balliew allowed two earned runs on six hits over five innings for the win. Barrera worked two innings for the save, giving up a run on three hits.
In Game 2, Albany was unable to protect an early lead as Hamlin scored three runs in the final two innings. The winning run scored on an error with one out in the seventh.
“We ended up giving up a lead,” Fuentes said. “Hamlin battled back, and we had to go another seven innings in that heat.”
The Lady Lions led 6-2 in the third inning, but scored only once the rest of the way despite 14 hits. Garcia was 3 for 3 with two RBIs, while Lucas, Balliew, Barrera, Price, and Smith all had two hits each. Braylyn Abbate also had a hit.
Balliew pitched four innings, allowing three earned runs on five hits. Barrera went 2.1 innings, allowing one earned run on four hits.
Hamlin took the early lead in Game 3 with four runs in the first. Albany rallied to take an 8-6 lead with three runs in the third and five in the fourth, but the Lady Pipers responded.
“We battled back strong in the second half of Game 3,” Fuentes said. “It turned out to be a two-run ballgame. If the ball had bounced a different way here and there, it might have been a different outcome.”
Balliew, who was 2 for 4, and Cox each drove in two runs, while Smith was also 2 for 4. Lucas, Price, and Garcia each had a hit and an RBI. Abbate and Kam Browning had hits, and Barrera drove in a run.
Albany pulled even in the fourth on Cox’s two-run double and took the lead on Balliew’s single. A pair of two-out errors extended the bottom of the inning, allowing Hamlin to regain the lead.
Balliew went the distance in the circle, giving up four earned runs on 13 hits.
REGIONAL QUARTERFINAL
GAME 1
ALBANY 10, HAMLIN 7
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
HAMLIN 0 0 1 4 1 0 1 7/9/6
ALBANY 0 3 2 0 2 3 x 10/12/5
atbat runs hits RBI
Lucas ss 4 0 2 1
Cox c 3 0 1 1
Balliew 2b 4 1 1 0
Barrera p 4 2 2 0
Garcia cf 4 1 2 2
Price lf 4 3 3 4
Smith 3b 4 2 1 0
Abbate rf 3 1 0 0
Browning 1b 4 0 0 0
Totals 34 10 12 8
2B – Barrera, Price.
IP H R ER BB SO
Balliew 5 6 6 2 0 0
Barrera 2 3 1 1 0 0
GAME 2
HAMLIN 8, ALBANY 7
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
ALBANY 2 2 2 0 5 0 0 7/14/6
HAMLIN 0 2 0 3 0 2 1 8/9/0
atbat runs hits RBI
Lucas ss 4 2 2 1
Cox c 2 0 0 0
Balliew 2b 4 0 2 0
Barrera p 4 1 2 1
Price lf 3 1 2 0
Smith 3b 4 0 2 1
Tabor 3b 0 0 0 0
Abbate rf 3 2 1 0
Browning 1b 4 0 0 0
Garcia cf 3 1 3 2
Totals 31 7 14 5
2B – Smith. 3B – Lucas. CS – Browning.
IP H R ER BB SO
Balliew 4 5 5 3 0 3
Barrera 2.1 4 3 1 0 3
WP – Balliew.
GAME 3
HAMLIN 10, ALBANY 8
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
ALBANY 0 0 3 5 0 0 0 8/10/4
HAMLIN 4 0 2 3 1 0 x 10/13/3
atbat runs hits RBI
Lucas ss 3 2 1 1
Cox c 3 1 1 2
Balliew p 4 0 2 2
Barrera 2b 4 0 0 1
Price lf 3 0 1 1
Smith 3b 4 1 2 0
Abbate rf 4 1 1 0
Browning 1b 4 1 1 0
Garcia cf 3 1 1 1
Totals 32 8 10 8
2B – Cox, Browning.
IP H R ER BB SO
Balliew 6 13 10 4 1 4
