Hays High’s Hannah Ramsey slides safely into second base under leaping Lady Lobo shortstop Cydney Ervin as Lehman’s Jessica Gonzales looks on in the Lady Rebels’ 6-5 win Tuesday night. The Lady Rebs trailed 3-0 before rallying at Lobo Field. (Photo by Cyndy Slovak Barton)
by MARK CAUL
A few weeks ago, the Hays Lady Rebels softball team was in a downward spiral.
They were desperately searching for a district win after suffering through their first-ever loss to Lehman.
Although she knew her team needed a little bit of motivation, Hays head coach Joanna Farr didn’t use a couple of overzealous post game quotes from a few Lehman players after their win to fire up her squad in the rematch.
She had something else in mind that would have a more lingering effect on her players.
Two weeks ago, Farr enlisted the help ex-Hays coach Tyson Dever, who had been paralyzed from the waist down after being involved in a serious car wreck almost four years ago, came to a recent practice to address to her underachieving squad. Dever currently works as a motivational speaker, so he knew exactly what to say to the Lady Rebs.
Hays High has been playing at another level ever since.
That trend continued Tuesday night as the Lady Rebels hung on to beat Lehman 6-5 at Lobo Field.
Hays sophomore pitcher Clarissa Gonzalez came on in relief and retired the last two Lehman batters to quell a frantic last-inning Lady Lobo rally.
The Lady Rebels were able get some revenge for their 15-10 loss against Lehman a few weeks ago at Hays.
“I really didn’t pay much attention to what was said in the paper,” Hays head coach Joanna Farr laughed. “They won that game. We weren’t playing well at the time and Coach Dever is an excellent motivational speaker. We just had him come out and challenge every single girl. And it appeared to be what they needed.”
Lehman seemed to be in control for most of the contest, leading 3-0 at one point.
A crucial throwing error by Lehman third baseman Emma Martinez led to a big inning by the Lady Rebels as Kelsea Sadler, Maddy Shannon and Emily Opheim all drove in runs to help Hays surge ahead 6-3.
In their final at-bat in the bottom of the seventh, the Lady Lobos weren’t ready to go quietly as first baseman KeKe Holmes delivered a clutch one-out double down the left-field line with a pair of runners on to close the gap at 6-5.
That’s when Gonzalez entered the contest to pitch for the Lady Rebs and promptly induced a pop out to the catcher and then struck out Jessica Gonzalez to preserve the win for Hays (3-5 in 27 4-A).
“That was an excellent example of team work right there,” Farr said. “Clarissa came in for two hitters and did her job. You can’t ask for anything more than that.”
Hays travels to Alamo Heights for a crucial matchup on Friday.
“We are one game behind Alamo Heights for a playoff spot so this will be a very important game,” said Farr. “A must win.”
