Teri Lyles, a former Cy-Fair High School softball player now attending Keller High School, recently signed a national letter of intent to play softball for The University of Texas at Arlington. Lyles, who will pitch for the Mavericks, was the 2008 5A Offensive Player of her District in Keller ISD and also the Most Valuable Player of her high school team. Among those in attendance for the signing were her longtime Cy-Fair Blaze coach and hitting coach from Cypress, Juno Tilotta and wife Paula, Fort Worth Batbusters coach and pitching coach Ken Graves, Teri’s sisters Toni and Tori, grandparents Dick and Anna Schanz, and parents Buddy and Debbie Lyles.

    It was all smiles Thursday night for Cat Osterman, who received another big honor in her illustrious softball career.

Cypress Springs High School will hold a jersey retirement ceremony for former softball standout Cat Osterman during halftime of the Cypress Springs vs.

    MANVEL – Forget the fury of one woman scorned. Katy Taylor’s victory Friday in Game 2 of its regional semifinal victory with Brazoswood earned the Mustangs a vicious ire entering Saturday’s decisive Game 3, and the Bucs wasted no time hiding it. On the heels of the Mustangs’ one-run shutout win Friday, Brazoswood hit Taylor ace Sarah Blair immediately, scoring one run in the first and sealing a 4-0 win with three insurance runs in the sixth at Manvel. Brazoswood, which got 10 hits off Blair Friday, pounded her for 11 Saturday.

      MANVEL – Katy Taylor softball coach Billie Powell spent a few minutes before Friday night’s regional semifinal game discussing how tough it is for his ace, Sarah Blair, to become flustered in a tight spot. Give her bases loaded and no one out, he said. So it seemed fitting, then, that Blair and her stout defense squeezed out a 1-0 victory against Brazoswood in Game 2 at Manvel.

            Last week, Katy Taylor softball coach Billie Powell chose to have a one-game playoff with Cinco Ranch because he says the Cougars have such great hitting that he wanted to limit their opportunities at the plate.

{mosimage} There were two schools of thoughts regarding pitchers at Friday night's area-round softball doubleheader between Lamar and Katy Taylor. Lamar coach Brenna Guthrie pitched Taylor Devost in the first game and held senior ace Kelsey Goodwin for the nightcap, possibly hoping the latter would shut Taylor down and secure a series sweep. If Taylor softball coach Billie Powell ever entertained such notions, Sarah Blair quashed them in a hurry. {mosimage} Blair, Taylor's own senior hurler, shouldered the entire load, pitching a near-perfect game to start and tossing a clever 1-0 gem in the closer as the Mustangs swept the Redskins to advance to the regional quarterfinals. For her achievements, Blair is the Athlete's Connection's College Ball or Bust.com Athlete of the Week. "We knew they were a good team and we knew we were taking a little bit of a chance by pitching Sarah out there both games," Powell said.

    The Cy-Fair softball team has discovered a few ways to advance in the 5A-Region III postseason. First, the Bobcats pulled off a prominent first-round upset by outslugging Katy 7-6. Saturday, they made the most of six hits and a surprising Memorial error to upend the host Mustangs 3-2. With two outs in the fifth inning, Memorial catcher Suzanne Beltran tried to pick off Cy-Fair’s Bethany Armstrong at third base.

      (Game 2 + Interview)      (Game 1)   Cinco Ranch's softball team hosted an area round doubleheader with MacArthur Friday night in a best-of-three-game series.

    (Game 2 + Interviews)     (Game 1)      Katy Taylor ace Sarah Blair is the first to admit she’s not an overpowering pitcher.   For as impressive as her Friday night was in an area-round sweep of Lamar at Seven Lakes, perhaps never was Blair’s command more evident than in the seventh inning of the second game. Holding a 1-0 lead with runners on first and second and none out, Blair pulled out a wicked array of fastballs and changeups to strike out two of the final three batters she faced to secure the victory and advancement to the regional quarterfinals. Blair was an error away from a perfect game in the opener but got a no-hitter as Taylor (24-9) won 2-0. “Their lineup has seen me a bunch of times,” said Blair, a Kansas signee who has been on summer teams with Lamar ace Kelsey Goodwin.

       Down two runs after the first inning Tuesday night, St.

{mp3}080428-SB-SecondBaptist2{/mp3}     Lexy Bennett, Virginia Keel and Lauren Rogers showed they are the leaders on Second Baptist’s softball team.

  Region III softball coaches met Monday morning at the Merrell Center in Katy to determine dates, sites and times for area-round games Friday and Saturday.   Series in the Athlete's Connection's primary coverage area are listed below.   Memorial vs.

          Katy Taylor softball coach Billie Powell didn't mince words when asked about his team's advantage in a bi-district playoff series against Cypress Creek.   “We just had an ace in the hole named Sarah Blair,” Powell said.

        It wasn’t that Chavez pitcher Rebecca Villarreal was throwing every pitch down the middle Friday night. Indeed, Villarreal hit her spots well for much of  the Lobos’ 5A bi-district playoff game at Memorial.

  Alyssa Garcia and Debra Kelly doubled, and MacArthur scored four runs in the fifth inning to take a 4-2 win in Game 1 of its 5A bi-district playoff series against Westside Thursday night at Butler Field.   The game started slow - neither team scored until the bottom of the fourth inning, when Westside took a 1-0 lead.   But the Generals scored three runs in the top of the fifth off Westside pitcher Abbie Ornelas, who took the loss.

          It was a pitcher’s duel at Mayde Creek Thursday night as the Rams hosted Cypress Woods in Game 1 of their three-game bi-district series.

{mosimage} In the biggest game of the year to date, Meghan Brown had a performance she might never top. Of course, some may have said that the last time she did this. Brown, the Cinco Ranch softball team’s senior catcher, hit three home runs Friday night in the Cougars’ 5-4 win against Katy.

    The Elkins and Clements softball teams played another tight game for the third time this season, but that’s become expected in this big rivalry. “It’s always a battle.

        It was sweet revenge for Cinco Ranch, at least for another few weeks. A game-winning RBI single by Emily Meurer and three solo home runs by senior catcher Meghan Brown helped the Cougars to a 5-4 win over Katy in nine innings Friday night, giving the Cougars their third straight District 18-5A championship.   But this win was much sweeter since it was the Tigers that knocked out the Cougars out of the playoffs last year, while Katy became the state runners-up. “We beat them every year until regionals last year,” Cinco Ranch coach Kerry Simpson said.

          Perhaps because they were so familiar with Stratford pitcher Lauren Brady, the Memorial softball team was almost desperate for a fast start Friday night. According to catcher Suzanne Beltran, her team felt an early lead was imperative if the Mustangs were to earn a share of their third consecutive district championship. “We were just trying to score a lot of runs in the beginning.

        The Second Baptist softball team’s bats and pitching sealed a 7-0 victory over Houston Christian Tuesday night.

    Mary Beth Allcorn gave one last hurrah in her last home game as a Cinco Ranch Cougar.

            It was only fitting that Katherine Espinosa got the winning hit.

        Cypress Woods traveled to Cypress Ridge Friday night for their final road game of the district season.

    In just a half-inning, Katy lost its four-run lead over Katy Taylor to a grand slam in a District 18-5A softball game Tuesday night. But the Tigers kept their composure and managed to score three more runs in the bottom of the fifth to get a 7-5 victory. Katy (22-4 overall, 10-1 district) racked up an early run in the second when a lead off double scored on an RBI.

    The Cypress Springs softball team has four games left in the regular season and they are fighting for a playoff spot.

        With the talent level in the SPC on the rise, the rivalry game between Episcopal and Kinkaid took place Wednesday evening.

          Nimitz achieved a four-year goal Saturday evening when it defeated Memorial 13-10 in a District 19-5A softball game.   “Ever since freshman year, we’ve wanted it so bad, and we finally beat them,” Nimitz pitcher Jessica Davis said. After swapping the lead inning after inning, Nimitz stayed focused and strong with the bat. “They have been hitting better this year than they have in a very long time,” said Nimitz coach Rene Hopkins said.

          Extra innings decided the Jersey Village (3-2) versus Cy Falls (2-4) game Wednesday night as Jersey Village came out on top, 2-1.

      In something of an early-season upset, the Spring Woods softball team defeated visiting Stratford 3-2 Saturday in a District 19-5A game.   The Tigers took the field as the underdog with something to prove.

    Coming off a down weekend in the HSSL tournament, the Lamar softball team's schedule offered no sympathy. Bellaire and ace Kat Espinosa beckoned in a key District 20-5A game Friday night at Butler Softball Field, so the Redskins focused on two things: teamwork and timing against Espinosa's speed. The time in the batting cage worked, especially for Lamar's own ace. Kelsey Goodwin struck out 12 and got the Redskins' only hit of the game, a double leading to the game's only run as Lamar edged Bellaire 1-0. Neither team had a hit until the third inning and there were only three combined baserunners until the fifth, when Goodwin touched up her old friend and former summer teammate with a double to the base of the left-field wall. She was replaced by courtesy runner Sarah Termeulen, who scored when Sandra Gallegos' grounder to third was missed on the throw to first base.   "We were just basically trying to hit the speed because we know (Espinosa) throws outside.

       Even beyond their lopsided win, Wednesday was an especially productive day for the Cinco Ranch softball team. By the second inning of the Cougars’ 17-0 win at Hastings in a District 18-5A game, coach Kerry Simpson worked two subs in.

      On a chilly Monday evening, Katy hosted Mayde Creek in a District 18-5A softball game.

{mp3}080229-KatySB{/mp3}       The Katy softball team’s schedule is hardly kind this weekend, but the Tigers simply are lowering their shoulders and barreling through. Last year’s 5A state runners-up have won five games in two days – one district game and four at the prestigious Brenham Tournament – and have two more Saturday. But the more the Tigers play, the more driven they seem to be. Power hitting propelled them to lopsided wins Friday morning and afternoon, 9-2 against Brenham and 10-2 against Port Neches Groves.

          Lamar's softball team is headed in the right direction to defend last year’s District 20-5A championship.   The Redskins shutout Westside, 10-0, Wednesday at Butler for their second district win.

    Just weeks before the start of softball season, four Spring High School seniors on Friday signed their national letters of intent.   Family and friends gathered together for pictures and cake and congratulated Courtney Schoenemann, Lindsey Brown, Laura Little and Caitlin Wells.   Schoenemann is heading to Sam Houston State; Brown is going to Blinn College; Little to Texas-San Antonio; and Wells to University of Mary Hardin-Baylor.   Spring softball coach Julie Wyrick, who has coached the girls all four years, couldn't have been more excited or proud.

    The USA/ASA 18-under Fast Pitch National Championship tournament in College Station at Central Park featured games from the championship and loser brackets. With more than 130 summer league softball teams starting in this tournament, the competition began to thin out as early as Thursday.

      With 20 Texas teams starting the USA/ASA 18 & Under "A" Fast Pitch National Championship Tournament on July 29, most Texans would hope that more than two teams would still be playing going into the next weekend.

      Bryan and College Station played host to more than 130 summer league softball teams in the USA/ASA 18-under Fast Pitch National Championship.

      Day two of the Houston ASA Championship Tournament took place at Burroughs Park on Saturday.

2007 19-5A ALL- DISTRICT COACH OF THE YEAR: ROBERT ‘BUBBA’ DELK- MACARTHUR MVP:   LESLIE LEJUNE  - JR. MEMORIAL NEWCOMER OF THE YEAR:  BLANCHE SCHWABENLAND - FR.

    Dyes Park held day two of the ASA Girl’s 18 and under “Gold” Sector 3 Qualifier on Saturday.

      Houston played host this year for the 2007 Girl’s 18 and under “Gold” Sector 3 Qualifier hosted by the Amateur Softball Association.

    OKLAHOMA CITY, OK - The state playoffs, which just ended in Katy’s brilliant march to the finals, may be history, but the summer season that allows girls playing on playoff-bound teams like Katy, Cinco Ranch, Waltrip and Westside is just beginning.

        **Due to UIL regulations, we are not permitted to sell game films or photos from this event.  We apologize for any inconvenience.**    The Katy Tigers and the Garland Owls competed Saturday evening in hopes of becoming the District 5A Softball State Champions.  Both teams advanced to this state game after coming out victoriously on Friday in the semi-finals.  Katy had a 3-0 victory against Lewisville Marcus while Garland defeated Austin Bowie for advancement in the bracket. Over an hour before the Katy-Garland game was to begin every entrance gate at McCombs Field was flooded with red and white as the Katy fans waited for the gates to open.  Soon, the fans from both teams were piling into the stadium with enough team spirit to last the entire evening. As the game began, both teams quickly showed skills that backed up how they had made it all the way to this championship game.

The 2007 UIL State Championship Softball Tournament was held this weekend in Austin, Texas.  The games were played at The University of Texas' McCombs Field.

    ** Due to UIL regulations, we are not permitted to sell game films or photos from this event.  We apologize for any inconvenience.**    The 2007 UIL State Softball Tournament began Friday at The University of Texas’ McCombs Field.

    **Due to UIL regulations, we are not permitted to sell game films or photos from this event.  We apologize for any inconvenience.**    As the sun was beating down onto the field, the stands of McCombs Field at the University of Texas were filled with fans decked out in green and purple Friday afternoon.  The Brenham Cubettes battled against the Boerne Greyhounds to determine who would advance to the District 4A State Championship game on Saturday.

The UIL Softball State Championship will be held this weekend at The University of Texas’ McCombs Field in Austin.   The Katy Lady Tigers advanced to the state semi-finals after dominating the Cinco Ranch Lady Cougars in a three-game series last week to win the 5A Region III title.