CALDWELL — The Dripping Springs High School Lady Tigers again made school history by making it to the State semifinals, where they met up with the Kingwood High School Mustangs.
In a best-of-three game series, the Lady Tigers’ stellar season ended, one game away from playing for the state championship, with back-to-back losses, 7-1 and 16-6, to the Mustangs.
Sadie Bradford was two for three at the plate, with a double and a stolen base in game one, and Lillian Wearden got the only other hit in the game Wednesday, May 21, at Caldwell High School. Wearden, Elianna Amato, Emma Phillips and Lorelei Gamble each drew a walk off of the Mustangs’ pitcher, but 13 runners were stranded on base and Bradford scored the only run for the Lady Tigers, thanks to an RBI by Taylor Crane.
The Mustangs hit two of their four home runs in the game and jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the top of the first inning in game two on Thursday. It looked promising when Dripping Springs tied it in the home half of the frame with two outs and the bases loaded when Morgan Crain hit a single to right center field, but Kingwood hit a three-run home run in the top of the second and scored another run for a 7-3 lead.
Gamble, two for two, led off the bottom of the inning with a blast that hit high off the stadium scoreboard for her twenty-third home run of the season to make it a 7-4 game. The Mustangs' fourth homer in the game, a three-run shot, barely cleared the glove of centerfielder Elianna Amato, who slammed into the centerfield fence and briefly came out of the game. The Mustangs put two more runs across the plate in the top of third for a 12-4 lead.
Kingwood was kept scoreless in the top of the fourth and fifth. Bradford walked, one of nine walks by the Mustangs, in the bottom of the fifth to load the bases and the Mustang’s pitcher walked a run in when Gianna Hauser took a base on balls. Morgan Crain got her third RBI on a hit back to the pitcher to score a run and cut the lead in half 12-6. Kingwood scored four runs in the top of the sixth inning and kept Dripping Springs scoreless for the run-rule win. Tatum Green was two for four at the plate and Jai-Lynn Flores had a hit and RBI.
“What a way to go out. No one expected this and no one had a tougher playoff schedule than we did, no one had a tougher road to get here and we made it,” head coach Wade Womack said after the loss. “Everything went their way bounces, timely hits, a called strike here and there, but don’t forget where you are and the role you all played to get here. I’m so proud of you.”
Dripping Springs graduated eight seniors: Keily Hatcher, Taylor Crain, Morgan Crain, Gianna Hauser, Rachel Key, Keira Hector and Jai-Lynn Flores.
“It breaks my heart to finish like this, but I thank God for the opportunity and am so grateful to all these girls for this awesome journey in my senior year making it to state,” Flores said after the game.
The Lady Tigers season ended after winning 6A District 26 with an 11-1 record and a 31-11-1 overall record.
