Girls play Game 1 today
By Sam Waller
The Albany Lady Lions split their final two District 8-2A softball games last week and start the playoffs this week.
Albany defeated Gorman 7-0 on Tuesday, April 19 on senior night at Webb Park before falling 7-5 on Friday, April 22 at Cisco.
Seniors Ana Balliew, Kam Browning, Ansleigh Garcia, and Sara Smith were recognized during the evening.
“Overall, it was a good week,” coach Jimmy Fuentes said. “We continued to play well.”
The Lady Lions (10-13-1 overall, 7-2 district) begin postseason play at 5:00 p.m. Thursday, April 28 (tonight) with Game 1 of a Class 2A bi-district series against Hawley at Abilene Cooper. The rest of the series schedule is dependent upon Albany’s performance at the Region II-2A track meet.
Against Gorman, Ana Balliew pitched a three-hit shutout, striking out eight, and drove in three runs.
“That was a good way for our seniors to finish up their careers here at home,” Fuentes said.
Robin Lucas and Kam Browning both went 2 for 3, while Balliew and Sara Smith, who had two RBIs, both went 2 for 4. Haily Cox and Browning each drove in a run.
The Lady Lions got all the offense they needed in the first, when Balliew singled in a run and Smith followed with a run-scoring ground out. Albany pulled away in the fifth on RBI singles by Balliew, Smith, and Browning. Cox and Balliew drove in runs in the sixth.
Balliew retired the first seven batters she faced and did not give up a hit until the fourth inning.
Against Cisco, Albany was unable to hold on after leading 4-0 in the third and 5-4 in the sixth.
“We still played well; it’s just that Cisco got some shots that fell for them there at the end and gave them the lead,” Fuentes said. “They took advantage of opportunities when they had to at the end of the ballgame.”
The Lady Lions built the early lead when Barrera was hit by a pitch and Browning walked with the bases loaded to force in runs in the first. In the second, Cox sacrificed to drive in a run, then Price singled in a run in the third.
“We wanted to start fast, knowing we were the visitor and wouldn’t have the luxury of the last at bat,” Fuentes said. “We executed the short game, which was important because the wind was such a factor, the toughest wind we’ve played in.”
After Cisco pulled even, Albany regained the lead when Lucas tripled and scored on an error.
Balliew was charged with two earned runs on nine hits in six innings. She struck out six.
In Hawley, the third seed out of District 7-2A, the Lady Lions face something of an unknown, Fuentes said.
“We look at common opponents and based on that, it looks like we’re two evenly matched teams,” he said. “I think we have an advantage that we’re a little deeper with our pitchers if we need to go to one of our backups. Hawley relies on one girl.”
ALBANY 7, GORMAN 0
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
GORMAN 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0/3/1
ALBANY 2 0 0 0 3 2 x 7/9/2
atbat runs hits RBI
Lucas ss 3 3 2 0
Cox c 3 1 1 1
Balliew p 4 2 2 3
Smith 3b 4 0 2 2
Price lf 2 0 0 0
Barrera 2b 3 0 0 0
Browning 1b 3 0 2 1
Abbate rf 3 0 0 0
Garcia cf 2 1 0 0
Totals 28 7 9 7
2B – Lucas. S – Cox. SB – Lucas.
IP H R ER BB SO
Balliew 7 3 0 0 0 8
CISCO 7, ALBANY 5
SCORE BY INNING 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 R/H/E
ALBANY 2 1 1 0 0 1 0 5/5/3
CISCO 0 0 4 0 0 3 x 7/9/5
atbat runs hits RBI
Lucas ss 2 2 1 1
Cox c 2 1 0 1
Balliew p 2 1 1 0
Smith 3b 4 1 1 0
Price lf 3 0 1 1
Barrera 2b 3 0 0 1
Browning 1b 3 0 1 1
Abbate rf 4 0 0 0
Garcia cf 4 0 0 0
Totals 28 5 5 5
3B – Lucas. HBP – Lucas, Barrera. S – Cox. SB – Lucas 2.
IP H R ER BB SO
Balliew 6 9 7 2 0 6
