Sports > Schools
Top-ranked Lady Cats on championship quest
BY ANDREW MAY, amay@acnpapers.com
The laundry list of opponents the Celina softball team has shredded this season is a who’s who of all-state squads.
The Lady Cats have already faced a throng of Texas’ top teams and have emerged no worse for wear, instead improving their own standing despite a non-district schedule that has closely resembled a playoff bracket.
Celina went 5-1 over the weekend to claim the championship at the Cen-Tex Hit-N-Run Tournament in Belton. The only loss the Lady Cats suffered came in a 4-2 pool-play setback to Elgin, the top-ranked 4A team in the state by the Texas Girls Coaches Association.
Responding in resounding fashion, Celina went on to beat Garland (8-3) and Belton (3-1) in bracket play before dismantling Waco Midway (16-8) in the title tilt.
Over the course of three days, the Lady Cats faced – and beat – a number of highly-touted teams, including defending 4A state champ Midway, Belton (No. 15 in 5A), Lorena (No. 4 in 3A) and Elgin. That’s in addition to a victory over Lovejoy (No. 15 in 3A) and a 4-4 tie with Flower Mound Marcus (No. 6 in 5A) the weekend before in the Allen Invitational.
Celina also toppled Grand Saline (No. 6 in 2A) in a season-opening tournament in Sulphur Springs. All told, the Lady Cats have tied or taken down six state-ranked foes on the way to a 14-4-3 record.
CHS has now surged to No. 1 in the TGCA state poll following Tuesday’s second victory over Lorena, an 11-8 win that saw the hosts rack up 15 hits.
Head coach Billy Coleman said his team took its lumps early on, but has since responded the way he expected.
“We’re back to where we want to be,” he said. “The whole No. 1 thing is kind of a curse in some ways to me. If you’re going to be ranked somewhere, I guess you want to be on top.”
The Lady Cats are churning out runs at an electric rate. That’s to be expected from a group that lost just one senior from last season’s squad that advanced to the regional final for the third time in four years.
Junior Paige Mongillo has made the switch from right field to catcher to fill the void left by the departure of Jasmine San Miguel and “done a tremendous job.” To this point, junior Katelyn Drummond and senior Kassidy Holmes have handled the pitching duties, which got a bit tougher with the UIL’s rule change pushing the mound a yard back to 43 feet.
Ultimately, the longer distance will benefit the defensively-sound Lady Cats since the fielders will be tested with much more frequency.
“Girls last year at 40 feet were really dominating people. That’s not the case this year,” Coleman said. “There are a ton more balls put in play. We don’t have a weak spot on the field and I take a lot of pride in us playing defense.”
Drummond struggled with location early on but has since returned to the form she displayed a year ago in leading Celina to its fourth straight district championship. Holmes, the full-time starter as a freshman, has picked up wins against Midway (twice), Belton and Garland. She has also provided pop in the lineup out of the cleanup spot.
“It’s nice to have her be able to come in and take the load off of Katelyn,” Coleman said. “She’s another kid that can come in and compete.”
The defensive leader is once again junior shortstop Shelby Carter, a Texas Sports Writers Association all-state honorable mention pick in 2010 after hitting .459 with 10 doubles, 10 triples, three home runs and 53 RBIs. The defensive player of the year in 9-3A last season, Carter has already attracted interest from a number of Division I schools.
She and the Lady Cats have already turned plenty of heads with their play.
“We walked into the Allen tournament and [my first-year assistants] were amazed because everyone was turning and looking at us as we were walking in,” Coleman said. “It’s good for the girls. They put in the work. People know we’re coming to play.”
Celina’s path to another district title should be significantly easier than last season, which was a virtual cakewalk. Anna, Van Alstyne, Bonham and Commerce will provide little to no resistance on what will essentially be an eight-stop parade route.
To keep his players from getting complacent, Coleman has scheduled some Saturday opponents, such as Southlake Carroll on March 19, a day after Celina begins 10-3A play with the district home opener against Commerce.
“We’re going to play some other people just to keep us fresh,” Coleman said. “If we go out and take care of business, I think we’ll be all right in district.”
The Lady Cats will next face Fort Worth Castleberry on Friday before getting a week off to prepare for Commerce. If all goes according to plan, Celina’s last loss of the season is in the rearview mirror.
“The hard part is not getting to No. 1, the hard part is staying at No. 1,” Coleman said. “We want to stay at No. 1 the entire year, and when the final rankings come out, be ranked No. 1 because that means we won a state championship. That’s what we’re after this year.”
The Lady Cats have already faced a throng of Texas’ top teams and have emerged no worse for wear, instead improving their own standing despite a non-district schedule that has closely resembled a playoff bracket.
Celina went 5-1 over the weekend to claim the championship at the Cen-Tex Hit-N-Run Tournament in Belton. The only loss the Lady Cats suffered came in a 4-2 pool-play setback to Elgin, the top-ranked 4A team in the state by the Texas Girls Coaches Association.
Responding in resounding fashion, Celina went on to beat Garland (8-3) and Belton (3-1) in bracket play before dismantling Waco Midway (16-8) in the title tilt.
Over the course of three days, the Lady Cats faced – and beat – a number of highly-touted teams, including defending 4A state champ Midway, Belton (No. 15 in 5A), Lorena (No. 4 in 3A) and Elgin. That’s in addition to a victory over Lovejoy (No. 15 in 3A) and a 4-4 tie with Flower Mound Marcus (No. 6 in 5A) the weekend before in the Allen Invitational.
Celina also toppled Grand Saline (No. 6 in 2A) in a season-opening tournament in Sulphur Springs. All told, the Lady Cats have tied or taken down six state-ranked foes on the way to a 14-4-3 record.
CHS has now surged to No. 1 in the TGCA state poll following Tuesday’s second victory over Lorena, an 11-8 win that saw the hosts rack up 15 hits.
Head coach Billy Coleman said his team took its lumps early on, but has since responded the way he expected.
“We’re back to where we want to be,” he said. “The whole No. 1 thing is kind of a curse in some ways to me. If you’re going to be ranked somewhere, I guess you want to be on top.”
The Lady Cats are churning out runs at an electric rate. That’s to be expected from a group that lost just one senior from last season’s squad that advanced to the regional final for the third time in four years.
Junior Paige Mongillo has made the switch from right field to catcher to fill the void left by the departure of Jasmine San Miguel and “done a tremendous job.” To this point, junior Katelyn Drummond and senior Kassidy Holmes have handled the pitching duties, which got a bit tougher with the UIL’s rule change pushing the mound a yard back to 43 feet.
Ultimately, the longer distance will benefit the defensively-sound Lady Cats since the fielders will be tested with much more frequency.
“Girls last year at 40 feet were really dominating people. That’s not the case this year,” Coleman said. “There are a ton more balls put in play. We don’t have a weak spot on the field and I take a lot of pride in us playing defense.”
Drummond struggled with location early on but has since returned to the form she displayed a year ago in leading Celina to its fourth straight district championship. Holmes, the full-time starter as a freshman, has picked up wins against Midway (twice), Belton and Garland. She has also provided pop in the lineup out of the cleanup spot.
“It’s nice to have her be able to come in and take the load off of Katelyn,” Coleman said. “She’s another kid that can come in and compete.”
The defensive leader is once again junior shortstop Shelby Carter, a Texas Sports Writers Association all-state honorable mention pick in 2010 after hitting .459 with 10 doubles, 10 triples, three home runs and 53 RBIs. The defensive player of the year in 9-3A last season, Carter has already attracted interest from a number of Division I schools.
She and the Lady Cats have already turned plenty of heads with their play.
“We walked into the Allen tournament and [my first-year assistants] were amazed because everyone was turning and looking at us as we were walking in,” Coleman said. “It’s good for the girls. They put in the work. People know we’re coming to play.”
Celina’s path to another district title should be significantly easier than last season, which was a virtual cakewalk. Anna, Van Alstyne, Bonham and Commerce will provide little to no resistance on what will essentially be an eight-stop parade route.
To keep his players from getting complacent, Coleman has scheduled some Saturday opponents, such as Southlake Carroll on March 19, a day after Celina begins 10-3A play with the district home opener against Commerce.
“We’re going to play some other people just to keep us fresh,” Coleman said. “If we go out and take care of business, I think we’ll be all right in district.”
The Lady Cats will next face Fort Worth Castleberry on Friday before getting a week off to prepare for Commerce. If all goes according to plan, Celina’s last loss of the season is in the rearview mirror.
“The hard part is not getting to No. 1, the hard part is staying at No. 1,” Coleman said. “We want to stay at No. 1 the entire year, and when the final rankings come out, be ranked No. 1 because that means we won a state championship. That’s what we’re after this year.”
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