By Spencer Spilman
The Hays Lady Rebels softball team remained undefeated in district play Friday night after handling business against the visiting Anderson Lady Trojans, 4-1.
Nadia Netek pitched six strong innings for the Lady Rebels while the offense struggled a little to produce runs. She gave up just one run on six hits to Anderson.
On the other side, Anderson pitcher Natalie Rhames kept Hays hitters from getting comfortable, and the Lady Trojans defense helped keep the Lady Rebels from getting runs across the plate. Hays scattered 12 hits against Rhames but only scored four runs in the game.
The Lady Rebels got the scoring started early in the first inning. Leadoff hitter Sydney Belvin got a leadoff single and then quickly stole second base. She was brought home by a Max Valdez single.
Anderson tied the game at 1-1 in the third inning after Katie Skalaban hit a triple and was then brought home by Rhames on a single.
After the third inning, Netek settled in and didn’t give up another multiple-base hit, and the Lady Trojans did not score again.
The Lady Rebels regained the lead quickly in the bottom of the third inning. Hays’ Illyana Cisneros got a double and Lulu Arroyo followed with an RBI triple.
Arroyo added her second RBI in the fifth inning on a sacrifice. Karina Rocha scored after she got a leadoff single to start the inning.
Hays added another insurance run in the bottom of the sixth inning. Maria Arroyo got a one-out single, followed by Alyssa Martinez, who moved her over on a two-out single. Valdez added on to her good offensive game with a two-out RBI single to bring the score to 4-1.
The insurance runs were nice, but not necessary for Netek. She only had three strikeouts but she forced the Lady Trojans into easy groundouts and her defense played a solid game behind her.
Hays head coach Lisa Cone was pleased with the way her pitcher played.
“Nadia had a great night tonight on the mound, and the defense behind her did a good job,” said Cone.
Cone also said the performance from Netek was extremely necessary, as the team struggled to string hits together. She said the offense did just enough to give Netek the opportunity to win the game.
