Timely hitting and solid pitching were key components in the Dripping Springs Tiger softball team’s 6-1 nondistrict win over the San Antonio Johnson Jaguars Saturday.
With the win, Dripping Springs improved to 25-2 and maintains its hold as the No. 3 team in Class 5A.
“We knew coming in we had to execute the little things to find a way to win the ball game. Our girls were able to do that,” said Tiger head coach Wade Womack.
After being down 1-0 in the bottom of the first, Tigers senior catcher Bailey Hudgeons turned the momentum of the game when she smashed a two-run home run over the right center field wall. The hit jarred the Jaguars, which made a pitching change immediately after the blast.
“She just left a screwball over the plate and I just attacked it,” Hudgeons said. “It was 2-0 (in the count) and I knew she was a little bit faster than what we’ve been seeing in our district, so I knew I just had to jump on it, especially if it was inside.”
Hudgeons went 2-for-2 in the game with two RBIs and a run scored. Hudgeons accounted for two of the six hits the Tigers got off of Johnson’s pitching staff, including a double in the fifth inning that put runners in scoring position.
“Bailey’s been good for us all year long, she’s a great hitter and a clutch hitter,” Womack said.
“The thing I love about Bailey is no matter what happens at the plate, she doesn’t take it with her, she just comes back and is ready to go. But that home-run was huge, we needed that.”
Dripping Springs had a big bottom of the fourth inning as the team scored three runs to stretch its lead to 5-1. All three runs came via Jaguar errors, in addition to smart base running by the Tigers. Dripping Springs extended its lead to 6-1 in the fifth inning as pinch hitter Izzy Bermudez singled to center field to bring home another run.
Womack lauded the Tigers’ baserunning ability, which has been “solid all year long.”
“You know we hit the ball in play, got a bunt down, we scored a run on an error and then ended up scoring two on a couple errors,” Womack said. “That was on the girls, they did a good job of reading what was happening.”
While the Tiger offense put runs on the scoreboard, Tiger senior pitcher Logan Hulon prevented the Jaguars from doing the same. Hulon earned the win while striking out 12 Johnson batters and only giving up one run on four hits and a walk.
Hulon also escaped several situations where the Jaguars had runners in scoring position.
“She’s just one of those pitchers that comes around every so often that you get an opportunity to coach,” Womack said. “She went out there and she just did what she had to.”
