Lady Blues bounce back with win over Brownwood

Just a couple days removed from a heartbreaking loss in their district opener at Stephenville, the Lady Blues softball team bounced back with a huge 12-0 win over Brownwood this past Monday, March 25.

Due to the run rule, the game ended after five innings since the Lady Blues were up by more than 10 runs over the Lady Lions. Graham’s explosive offense primarily came in the third inning where the team scored 10 of their 12 runs to put the game out of reach.

“I thought we saw the ball well, and I don't care if it's a single, double, triple, whatever, just make good contact. And we're making great contact but hitting it so hard right at (the Lady Lions) in the outfield,” head coach Adam Arrington said.

During Graham’s big scoring inning, the Lady Blues earned most of their runs through a series of singles. The team made lots of hard contact on Brownwood’s pitches, but the hits went right to the outfielders which allowed them to get the ball in quicker. The only extra base hit in the inning came from Meagan Brooks, who hit a double to right-center field.

“(The Lady Lions) were able to get it in and nothing got through the gap,” Arrington said. “But if we make good contact, the ball is eventually going to find the gap and it'll be beneficial for us.”

Graham scored 10 runs in the inning but it could have been even more had luck been more on their side. However, with Reese Calhoun pitching for the Lady Blues, they didn’t need much more.

Calhoun dominated in the circle, once again, for Graham as she pitched the entire five innings, only gave up two hits, struck out 10 Brownwood players and didn’t allow a walk. The Lady Blues also didn’t commit any errors on defense behind her, for one of the team’s cleanest games of the season.

“I trust our pitchers all day long. I thought the last few weeks we've had a few more walks than we'd like to have, but we didn't walk anybody tonight and had quite a few strikeouts,” Arrington said. “Good outing by Reese Calhoun and then (we came) out and just crushed the ball like we did today; good things are going to happen.”

At the start of the game, the Lady Blues scored two runs in the first inning to get out to an early lead. Two singles and then a dropped third strike allowed Olga Morales to score on the throw to first from Brownwood’s catcher. The next batter, Paris Tate, singled to left field to bring the other run home.

In the explosive third inning, Graham racked up seven singles, a double, two walks and took advantage of a couple of fielder’s choices and a Brownwood error to help score all their runs. The Lady Blues brought 16 people to the plate, meaning seven hitters went to bat twice in the inning.

It was an offensive onslaught that put the game far out of reach for Brownwood and helped Graham get back in the win column moving forward.

Morales and Brooks each finished the game 2-for-4 at the plate, while Tate went 2-for-3 with a team-high three RBIs. Every player in the lineup who recorded an at bat in this game scored a run, providing a balanced offensive attack.

With the victory, the Lady Blues are 1-1 in district, and after a game Thursday, March 28 at Glen Rose, the team will return home Tuesday, April 2 for a matchup with Mineral Wells at 6:30 p.m.