Archives > McKinney Courier-Gazette > Sports
Print
E-mail
Comment
Rate
RSS
Share
Lady Bulldogs bounce back, hold off Frisco
BY JIM DONOVAN, MCKINNEY COURIER-GAZETTE
MCKINNEY - Kristen Adkins is widely known throughout the region as a dominant hitter and pitcher. Just in case top-ranked Frisco forgot, Adkins reminded them of that with a complete game shutout and game-winning home run on Wednesday.
With two outs in the bottom half of the third inning, having just missed on a 2-0 fastball, Adkins blasted an opposite-field, line-drive bomb, giving the Lady Bulldogs a 1-0 victory over the previously unbeaten Lady Raccoons.
“She's a great hitter and she hit a good pitch,” Frisco head coach Max Bledsoe said. “We were trying to keep it away, and that one was on the outside corner. She just went out, got it, and drove it.”
“Take advantage of what you get,” Adkins said. “She's a good pitcher, she's always pretty tough. As a hitter, you have to bring your ‘A' game and keep a good eye out. Once she makes a mistake, you have to take advantage of it.”
Adkins did, and was just as tough as her counterpart on the mound. She did allow three Lady Raccoons to get into scoring position with less than two outs. Just when it looked like Frisco was set to bounce back in the top of the fourth, Adkins and catcher Hayley Adkins ended the inning with a strike-em-out, throw-em-out double play.
“They had my back from the get go,” Adkins said of her defense. “They've been doing so well at practice and in these previous games, I know that if I give up a hit, they are right there behind me and there going to make up for it and help me out.”
North head coach Debbie Evans agreed. Whether it was Kathy Shelton diving to keep a ball in the infield or Hannah Moseley sprinting to catch a blooper in left, the defense seemed possessed to do whatever their pitcher need them to.
“That was probably the best defensive game we played,” Evans said. “It was the cleanest with flat-out the most hustle, and that comes with how bad you want it. You could tell that from [Lindsey Post's game-opening diving stop].”
“When we hit the ball hard, they made the plays. How many times did they bobble it and still throw us out by a step? Sometime things don't go your way,” added Bledsoe.
Frisco's first loss was a tough one to take. Bledsoe agreed it would have been very tough for his team to go through the entire season without a loss, but the 1-0 decision shows just how competitive and even District 9-4A promises to be during the stretch drive.
For North, it was more than a win. Having lost a well-played game to Lake Dallas on Friday, Evans was pumped to see her team bounce back the way it did.
“Yeah we were disappointed, but we didn't play bad [at Lake Dallas]; we had an error-free game. The girls were disappointed with they way we performed, but we knew will were still in a good position district-wise. We knew if we came back here and beat [Frisco], we'd be right back where we were.”
And now they are, sitting in a tie for first place with Frisco at 5-1.
The Lady Raccoons (20-1) will look to bounce back when they take on Lake Dallas after one-day's rest on Friday. North (18-3-1) will travel to Little Elm.
Struggles continue
for Boyd in 16-0 loss
By Travis Summers
McKinney Courier-Gazette
MCKINNEY - The newest lesson for the ever-developing McKinney Boyd softball team is how to get the easy out.
During its game against Little Elm on Wednesday, the Lady Broncos' tried to tag the lead runner too many times instead of settling for the routine out. Those struggles allowed Little Elm to score an avalanche of runs for a 16-0 win.
“We call it the ‘easy bag,'” Boyd head softball coach Stephanie Freeman said. “I tell them all the time, ‘go for the easy bag.' If the runner's right in front of you, tag her. I want them to get the easy out instead of the play that's going to save a run.”
The Lady Broncos defense faced multiple bases-loaded situations, but instead of making the routine throw to first for a simple out, the Boyd infield made late throws home. The strategy allowed the Lady Lobos to plate too many runners without having to sacrifice an out.
Freeman speculated that the pressure to do well is wearing on the young roster.
“It's like they're thinking too much,” Freeman said. “They're not worried about making the play at hand; they're worried about making the play after the first one.”
The second inning saw the Lady Broncos go for the “easy bag,” and find success with their decisions. Boyd pitcher Steffanie Palmisano faced only four Little Elm (8-8-1, 3-3) hitters during the frame and got solid defensive putouts from her infield and a great outfield catch from right fielder Tyler Lail.
“That just shows us that we can do it,” Freeman said. “I told them to look at the scoreboard because it was proof that we can get the easy out. We do it all the time in practice; it's just getting it done in a game.”
Boyd (2-16, 0-6) will have another chance to go for the easy bag on Friday when it travels to The Colony for a 7 p.m. first pitch.
The following are comments from the readers.
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
In no way do they represent the view of Starlocalnews.com
You must register with a valid email to post comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Only your Member ID will be posted with the comments.
Registered users sign in here:
Become a Registered User
- Return to: Sports «
- Home «
- Top of Page ^
