by MARK CAUL
Lehman pitcher Ashleigh Hildebrand (left), pictured here with teammate Cydney Ervin, pitched the Lady Lobos to a dramatic 3-1 district win at state-ranked Lockhart this season. (Photo by J.P. Edds)
In a spring season that certainly had its share of ups and downs, the Lehman High athletic program continued to stride in 2010.
Injuries certainly played a key role in all three spring sports for Lehman in 2010.
Some teams like baseball and softball continued to flourish, while others like soccer saw their seasons take a huge hit after losing key players early in their campaign.
It was hard to narrow down three memorable events from the spring because there were so many exciting games and individual performances that were able to capture the attention of Lobo fans during these past five months.
That included another run at the state tournament for Lehman tennis (John Martin/Penelope Kittel in mixed doubles).
However, if somebody were to put the spring season into some sort of time machine for the next generation to witness, my list would have to go something like this:
Lehman softball stuns fourth-ranked Lockhart on the road in softball 3-1: All I can say is - WOW! I still can’t believe that happened. The last time the Lady Lions were beaten at home in softball, the seniors on their team were freshman. Lehman’s jaw-dropping win was something to behold.
Sophomore Ashleigh Hildebrand handcuffed Lockhart’s high-powered offense like nobody else had before. I overheard some of the Lockhart fans saying that it was by far the best pitching performance that they had seen against their team. Monique Johnson made a couple of dazzling catches to preserve the win late. It was a signature win that should put Lehman on the softball map. Big picture-wise, you can bet that the next time these two teams meet, the Lady Lions won’t be staging any pre-game dance contests instead of warming up for the game.
Lehman baseball makes school’s first-ever baseball playoff appearance: Overall, it may not have been the best of seasons for Coach Toby Robinson’s crew because of an unfortunate injury to ace pitcher JP Flores early in the pre-district campaign which affected him on the mound for most of the district run. But Robinson rallied the troops and picked up a couple of key wins late in the district season to secure the district’s fourth and final playoff spot.
The night they beat Elgin to clinch the berth was magical enough as Rudy Martinez threw the ball down to first baseman Orlando Banda for the final out. It played out like a movie with the team mobbing each other near the mound, the coaches grinning from ear-to-ear and the fans celebrating wildly in the stands. But it was just a prelude to one of the biggest celebrations and playoff games in school history with a record crowd of more than 1,000 screaming Lobo fans turning out to witness history at Bobcat Baseball Field at Texas State University. Even though the Lobos bowed out of the playoffs in two games to state-ranked Brenham, it was awesome to hear the place explode when the Lobos gained early momentum. It had all the makings of a college atmosphere.
A season-ending injury to Lehman’s Oscar Garcia (left) was one of the key reasons the Lobo boys soccer team missed the playoffs for the first time in team history this year. (Photo by J.P. Edds)
Lehman boys soccer misses the playoffs for the first time in school history: The season began as normal as ever for head coach Jay Sansom and the perennial area power Lehman boys soccer team. The Lobos opened the season by winning four straight games to capture the Rebel Cup, including a 2-0 blanking of rival Hays in the championship game. Surprisingly enough, that turned out to be the highlight of their season.
A few nights later in Round Rock, leading scorer and top defender Oscar Garcia went down with one of the scariest injuries Sansom had ever seen. As Garcia raced downfield on a scoring run, he ran full force into a much bigger Westwood defender and the collision sent Garcia out for the season with a serious knee injury, and the Lobos down for the count.
They could never seem to overcome Garcia’s injury. When second-leading scorer Oscar Martinez was also lost a couple of weeks into the district campaign, it left the Lobos fighting an uphill battle for the remainder of the season. They finished fifth in the district.
It was the first time in Sansom’s decorated coaching career that one of his teams failed to reach the playoffs. With both Oscars set to return for their senior seasons next year and the new district being a lot less challenging, to say the least, it’s pretty safe to say that Sansom and the Lobos have a great chance to be back in the playoffs next season.
