Best of 3 series to start Thursday
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lady Lion softball team ended the regular season on Tuesday with a 11-6 loss to the Cisco Lady Loboes, sending Albany into the playoffs as the runner-up in the 2A bracket for Region I.
The two teams were tied in the standings going into the bout at the local ballpark, with the winner advancing in the top spot in the playoffs.
The Lady Lions will face the Anson Lady Tigers, the third place team from District 7-2A, in a best-of-three series if field conditions and weather permits.
Game 1 is scheduled to be played in Anson on Thursday (today) at 5:00 p.m., followed by a second game in Albany on Friday also at 5:00 p.m. If a third game is needed, it will be played on Saturday at 3:00 p.m. at a site to be determined following Game 2.
Whether or not the series will proceed depends on the weather.
“With the rain we both have had, we will probably be looking for a field with turf,” coach Jimmy Fuentes said. “Worst-case scenario would be going to just a single game. It is going to depend on the weather and if their field or ours is even playable.”
The coach suggested watching the Albany Booster Club and high school’s Facebook pages for any last-minute changes.
Albany and Cisco were the only actual 2A teams in the hybrid district that included several 1A schools as well.
The two teams to move on to the 2A bracket of the playoffs, while the other district teams advanced into the 1A bracket.
The winner of the first round will move on to the area playoff to meet the winner of the McCamey vs. Winters game at the end of next week.
Albany defeated Cisco in the first round of district play, but this time, theLady Loboes broke the game open with five runs in the third, followed by three runs in both the sixth and seventh frames. Both teams collected a large number of hits, with Albany getting 16 and Cisco 15. However, the Lady Loboes were able to convert their offense to points on the board more than the home team.
The Lady Lions split games last week with district teams, suffering a second loss to Eula, 7-1 on April 20. Albany also hosted Cross Plains last week, picking up a 16-1 win in a make-up game the next day, April 21.
“We had to play some people out of position last week due to illness, which was frustrating but it’s part of the game,” coach Jimmy Fuentes said. “Eula is a veteran team with five seniors and three juniors who start, so you can’t get off to a slow start against a team like that.”
The coach was counting on the Lady Lions rallying against Cisco to hand the Lady Loboes a loss and advance as the winner into the playoffs.
“We did a good job of bouncing back against Cross Plains last week, and that was what we needed to do against Cisco to put us in the best position possible for the playoffs,” he said.
lady LIONS vs Eula
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Runs
Eula 2 0 0 0 1 0 4 7
Albany 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 1
INDIVIDUAL STATS
T Fuentes 2 for 3, 1 dbl, 1 sgl
A Balliew 1 for 3, 1 dbl, 1 RBI
B Belcher 1 for 3, 1 sgl
I Alvarez 1 for 1, 1 sgl
lady LIONS vs CROSS Plains
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 Runs
Cross Plains 0 0 1 0 x 1
Albany 3 2 3 8 x 16
INDIVIDUAL STATS
R Lucas 3 for 4, 1 sgl, 2 dbl, 3 RBIs
B Belcher 2 for 3, 1 sgl, 1 tpl, 2 RBIs
T Fuentes 1 for 4, 1 sgl, 1 RBI
A Balliew 2 for 3, 2 dbls, 3 RBIs
S Smith 2 for 4, 2 sgls, 1 RBI
H Cox 3 for 4, 3 sgls, 1 RBI
A Garcia 3 for 4, 3 sgls, 2 RBIs
I Alvarez 1 for 3, 1 dbl, 2 RBIs
K Browning 1 for 3, 1 sgl, 1 RBI
LADY LIONS vs CISCO
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 RHE
CISCO 0 0 5 0 0 3 3 11/15/2
ALBANY 1 0 0 0 1 3 1 6/16/3
INDIVIDUAL STATS
R Lucas 3 for 5, 2 sgls, 1 dbl, 1 RBIs
T Fuentes 2 for 3, 2 sgls, 2 RBIs
A Garcia 1 for 3, 1 sgl
K Browning 2 for 3, 2 dbls
A Holson 3 for 4, 3 sgls, 2 RBIs
A Balliew 2 for 4, 2 sgls
G Price 1 for 1, 1 sgl
B Belcher 2 for 5, 1 sgl, 1 dbl, 1 RBI
