Girls open district with 2 wins
By Donnie A. Lucas
The Lady Lions opened district with a pair of decisive wins during the last week over Gorman and Baird.
The team is open this weekend, but will be back in action on Tuesday, March 23 in Cross Plains. The first pitch is set for 5:00 p.m.
Albany started district at home on March 9 with a 18-1 victory over Gorman, followed this week with a 17-2 win over Baird on Monday.
“We began district with two wins, and that is good,” coach Jimmy Fuentes said. “However, we weren’t as consistent as I would have liked us to be.”
The coach was pleased with the early lead the Lady Lions built over Gorman last week, but he said the team started slower this week against Baird.
“The girls came out on fire against Gorman and played a great game from the onset,” he said. “Ana Balliew gave Gorman fits in the first game, pegging four hits to lead the win over Gorman.”
Balliew singled in the first, homered in the second, singled in the third, and hit a grand slam in the fourth. The junior also was credited with the victory on the mound, going all four innings, allowing one run on two hits and striking out two.
Despite a “flat” start against Baird this week, Fuentes was happy the team came alive with a nine-run fourth inning to clinch their second district win.
“We need to strive for the consistency from game to game that good teams are known for,” he said. “We really need our younger players to mature and understand that. This is something that we will continue to preach and demand out of them as district rolls on and we get into the playoffs.”
Albany is playing in District 8-2A this season, which includes two actual 2-A schools – Albany and Cisco – both of which are guaranteed playoff berths. The rest of the district consists of 1A schools including Baird, Eula, Cross Plains, Gorman, May, and Rising Star.
All eight teams are competing for the district title, but will split into separate playoff brackets, with Albany and Cisco advancing into the 2A bracket and the rest competing for spots in the 1A bracket.
The Lady Lions had been part of District 7-2A with the Jones County school of Hawley, Stamford, and Hamlin, along with Haskell, until redistricting earlier this year.
ALBANY vs Gorman
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 R/H/E
ALBANY 4 5 3 6 x 18/18/0
gorman 0 0 0 1 x 1/2/2
INDIVIDUAL STATS
R Lucas 2 for 3, 1 sgl, 1 dbl, 1 RBI
T Fuentes 2 for 3, 2 sgls, 2 RBIs
K Browning 1 for 3, 1 sgl
A Holson 2 for 3, 2 sgls, 1 RBI
A Balliew 4 for 4, 2 sgls, 2 HR, 8 RBIs
H Cox 1 for 3, 1 tpl, 1 RBI
S Smith 2 for 3, 1 sgl, 1 dbl, 2 RBIs
B Belcher 3 for 3, 1 sgl, 2 tpls
S Hobbs 1 for 1, 1 sgl
Pitching - Ana Balliew (W), IP-4.0 -1 run, 2 hits, 2 BB, 2 SO.
ALBANY vs Baird
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 R/H/E
ALBANY 2 2 4 9 x 17/7/1
Baird 0 1 1 0 x 2/3/0
INDIVIDUAL STATS
R Lucas 0 for 2, 1 RBI
T Fuentes 1 for 2, 1 sgl
K Browning 1 for 3, 1 dbl, 1 RBI
A Balliew 2 for 3, 1 dbl, 1 tpl, 3 RBIs
H Cox 1 for 1, 1 sgl, 2 RBIs
S Smith 0 for 2, 1 RBI
I Alvarez 1 for 2, 1 sgl
B Belcher 1 for 2, 1 sgl, 3 RBIs
S Hobbs 1 RBI
Pitching - Ana Balliew (W), IP-4. 3 hits, 2 runs, 2 SO, 0 BB.
