“It was huge to get those runs early and get ahead. Cinco is a good team and we knew that coming in. Being able to get that momentum early in the game really set us up the rest of the way. We were able to just build on it towards getting the win. It was a really good win for us.”
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Katy has been working on ways to improve this season.
Despite having a very good start to the year, the Tigers have been focused on making sure they are making themselves better everyday.
It’s resulted in a 19-3 start to the year and a 6-0 start to district, as Katy has continued a dominant run throughout the start of the season.
But even with that, the Tigers are still working to meet expectations, and during practice this week Katy head coach Kalum Kaack saw what he believed to be a softball team building towards its potential to be a true contender.
“I don’t think we’ve played up to our potential in our 22 ball games so far this year, but (Thursday) I saw a team for the first time this year that practiced like a really good softball team. We had focus, energy, concentration and effort. It’s the first time we’ve reached that level of it this year and it was good to see.”
The Tigers took that energy and brought it into Friday, when they faced an important game against Cinco Ranch at home in a battle between the top two teams in district heading into the day. Katy though took care of business and earned a 10-0 win over the Cougars, run ruling them in five innings to stay atop the District 19-6A standings as the teams head into spring break.
“Getting this win is huge,” said junior pitcher Cameryn Harrison. “Going into a little break with a win and ending on a high note is important. We know what we need to work on so to come out of this on a high note, have a little time to get things right. It’s great, now we get to rest a bit and when we come back work on closing out district just as strong.”
It was a fast and furious start for Katy, as Harrison pitched a clean top half of the first before the Katy offense exploded in the bottom of the inning.
The Tigers got two runners on to start the game before Ashtyn Reichardt drove a run in on a sacrifice grounder. Montgomery Henderson followd that up with a single to drive in another run before she then came around to core on a wild pitch, and Katy got another run on an error before Peyton Watson grounded into a fielder’s choice to make things 5-0 Katy after the first inning.
“It was huge to get those runs early and get ahead,” Reichardt said. Cinco is a good teamand we knew that coming in. Being able to get that momentum early in the game really set us up the rest of the way. We were able to just build on it towards getting the win. It was a really good win for us.”
Katy added its sixth run in the third inning off a Lauryn Soeken RBI single, before Henderson drove in two more runs with a 2-run homerun in the fourth. Haley Gore made it 9-0 with an RBI double to bring Henderson home before Reichardt sealed the win in the fifth inning coming into score from third base on a wild pitch.
Harrison ended the night only giving up one hit, while striking out 11 and walking two in a complete game effort, while Henderson led the offense with three RBIs.
“We really improved tonight with a number of things,” Haack said. “We moved runners over well with sacrifices and more importantly we had good at bats with runners on base. Not every one of the at bats but so much better than where we were with it at the beginning of the season, and I really like what we did there. Our focus and our swings were much better up there and we need to build on that.”
Katy will have off the week of March 17 before getting back into things and trying to continue to pull away in the district race. The Tigers are determined to do just that, and find a way to bring home another district title.
“We have to keep working during the break and keep a good mindset,” Reichardt said. “That’s what we’ve been working on recently is our mindsets we bring into things and I think that showed in this game. We’re all very focused on giving good effort and playing for the team.”