Canyon's Andrea Robson slides safely in front of Hays catcher Dani Alvarado during the Cougarettes' 5-3 win Thursday night. Hays still had a chance to clinch a playoff berth on Friday night, but fell 7-3 against Alamo Heights after the Lady Mules ended the game with a dramatic walk-off grand slam. (Photo by Cyndy Slovak-Barton)
By JAMES HOLLAND
The Hays softball team had two chances to claim a playoff berth on Thursday and Friday nights at Canyon High School.
The Lady Rebels battled hard in both contests, but ultimately fell short of their bid for a postseason spot.
After losing 5-3 to Canyon Thursday night during their final regular season game, the Lady Rebs were in a tie with Alamo Heights for District 27-4A’s fourth and final playoff berth.
Hays and Alamo Heights squared off Friday night at Canyon High for the right to that postseason spot.
The Lady Rebels looked to be in excellent shape after scoring two runs in the top of the seventh inning to take a 3-1 lead when singles by Hannah Ramsey and Emily Opheim scored Maddy Shannon and Ramsey, but things fell apart for Hays in the bottom of the seventh.
Several pop-ups fell to the ground that could have ended the game for the Lady Rebs, and after Alamo Heights tied the score 3-3, Katlin Sehres put the finishing touch on the rally by nailing a laser shot into the wind over the centerfield fence with the bases loaded. The walk-off grand slam sent the Lady Mules to the playoffs with a 7-3 win and ended Hays’ season.
“It’s definitely very, very disappointing,” Hays head coach Joanna Farr said. “There’s not a whole lot to say. You could see it on the girls’ faces how tough it was for them. We just want to take this into the offseason and make it the driving force for what we want to accomplish next year.”
Against state-ranked Canyon on Thursday night, Hays had an early lead when Kelsea Sadler hammered an RBI-double that scored Emily Opheim, but Baylor University-signee Sarah Crockett tied things up with a homer for the Cougarettes that knotted the score 1-1. Canyon went on to take the lead for good with a rally in the bottom of the fourth inning.
“We played some really close games, but we just didn’t finish those must-win games down the stretch,” Farr said. “That’s something we’re going to have to learn to do next year. We’re a young team that’s losing only two senior starters (third baseman Ashley Miller and catcher Dani Alvarado) so we really feel the future is going to be great for our program. We also have a JV team that lost only three games all year. Those players will bring a lot of talent to the varsity mix next season.”
