Cinco Ranch’s Head Softball, Judy Whillock is stepping down from the coaching position and handing the reigns over to the head assistant, Kerry Simpson.   Coach Whillock led the Cougars to the Region III Finals, where they were defeated by the Katy Tigers in Game 3.

      When senior Kristie Chin addressed her 2007 graduating class of 1005 students Friday night, few outside of fans of Katy-area softball may have realized the Cinco Ranch salutatorian had just spent a grueling morning on the softball field before donning cap and gown.

        With two outs in the seventh, it looked as if Cinco Ranch’s Meghan Brown’s second and third homer in 24 hours would prove the difference in the Cougars’ regional final series with Katy.  But someone forgot to tell the Tigers’ Katie Brokmeyer, who decided her last at bat in the series’ deciding game would not be her last in a Katy uniform. In what will probably be the most memorable at bat in her high school career, the senior designated player followed Victoria Culbertson’s clutch two-out single with a blast over the leftfield fence to tie the game at 4-4 and set the stage for teammate Maate Haack’s game winner in the eighth.

           Even after her seventh inning solo home run over the left field fence proved the game winner for Cinco Ranch in its regional final softball series with Katy, the Cougars’ junior catcher Meghan Brown was quick to downplay the feat.  She said that after being down in the count 0-2, she just was looking for a base hit, anything to get something going to help her team break a 4-4 tie and live to play another day.  “We were tired, and we took them (Katy) for granted,” Brown said of the Cougars’ opening game 2-0 loss on Wednesday.  Her solo shot in the top of the seventh proved the difference as Cinco Ranch downed Katy 5-4 to send their best-of-three series into a third and final game Friday morning.  Brown’s home run was one of four hit in the contest.  “Tonight we came out with nothing to lose,” she said.  She credits Cinco Ranch’s lead-off hitter Jessica Stoelke and her three-hit performance on the evening with getting the team off to a fast start. Indeed, Stoelke set the tone early for the slugfest that ensued between the two Katy-area teams when she led off the top of the first with a solo shot over the right field fence, giving Cinco Ranch a 1-0 lead and Cougar fans something to cheer about.  Stoelke drove in three of the Cougars’ five runs in the game.  For the Cougars, it was a total turn around from game one, in which Katy’s Denise Arnold allowed them just two hits.  “Two hits won’t get it done,” said Cinco Ranch Coach Judy Whillock.  She said she told her team after their Wednesday night loss that this was “why you play two out of three.”  “We came out a little flat (in game one),” she said, adding that after beating Katy four times in a row over the past two seasons, the law of averages was bound to catch up with them sooner or later.  However, Whillock could not have predicted the four home runs belted in Thursday’s contest.  The most she could remember seeing in a game between the two District 18-5A rivals was one.  There was nothing flat about either team’s offensive performance Thursday.  Both Katy and Cinco Ranch combined for 20 hits.  Following Stoelke’s shot to right in the top of the first, Katy’s Taran Tyler launched a three-run homer of her own over the left field fence in the bottom of the inning to stake the Tigers to a 3-1 lead.  Kasey Henderson and Holly Holl, both on with singles, scored ahead of Tyler.  It was Tyler’s first home run ever.  Lori Hunsucker got her first of two singles in the inning but was left stranded when Cinco Ranch starter Kristie Chin recorded a strike out to end the inning. Another pitcher in Chin’s position might have given up after giving up four hits and a three-run homer to lead off the game, but the senior Cougar, who was named Greater Houston High School Spring Sports Outstanding Female Scholar Athlete of 2007 while Katy and Cinco Ranch were duking it out on the field Wednesday, wasn’t ready to throw in the towel yet.  Stepping to the plate with one out in the top of the second, she singled up the middle, sparking a rally that netted the Cougars four hits and two runs to tie the game.  Mary Beth Allcorn and Shannon Smith both singled, and Stoelke once again came up with the big hit, a two RBI single up the middle.  Meanwhile, Chin retired the Tigers in order in the bottom of the inning to keep the game knotted at 3-3. Both teams threatened in the third.  Cinco Ranch’s Karen Tulig doubled to the outfield fence and Brown was hit by a pitch to put two runners on, but Katy short stop Matte Haack threw to Tyler at third to force Tulig and Katy pitcher Denise Arnold got a pop up to second baseman Samantha Rickert to shut down the threat.  Katy got two runners on with one out in the bottom of the inning when Holl and Haack both singled, but fly outs to the outfield sent the game to the fourth. Cinco Ranch used some small ball to break the tie in the top of the fourth as Smith led off with a single up the middle, and Alex Reynolds and Stoelke both beat out bunts to load the bases.  The Cougars looked poised for a big inning, but when Arnold got a fly out and Rickert fielded a grounder to force Smith at the plate, it looked as if Katy had dodged a bullet.  Then Tulig drew a walk to bring home Cinco Ranch’s fourth run.  Katy tied the game in the bottom of the fifth when Stacy Dominique hit the game’s third home run, a solo shot, to tie the score at four a piece.  A single by Henderson brought Smith on in relief, and she retired the next three batters to set the stage for Brown’s game winner in the seventh.  Katy could muster just one more hit off of Smith, a single by Hunsucker in the sixth, while Arnold allowed just two hits past the fifth, a single in the sixth by Emily Meurer and Brown’s home run, despite getting drilled with a line shot in the fifth that dislocated the little finger on her glove hand.  Katy fans held their breath then cheered loudly as coaches helped pop the finger back in place and Arnold remained in the game.  Arnold took the loss, while Cinco Ranch’s Smith, Wednesday’s losing pitcher, got the win. Coach Whillock said her team’s strategy remains the same for game three as it did for game two:  “Play to win.  Keep swinging the bats.”  While she acknowledged that being one game away from the state tournament does put pressure on both the Cougars and the Tigers, she said, “It’s still a game.  You have to appreciate that.”   She added, “They’re (Katy) not going to quit and neither are we.” Both teams slug it out Friday at 11 a.m.

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    Katy pitcher Denise Arnold allowed just two hits over seven scoreless innings to handcuff the Cinco Ranch offense and lead the Tigers to a 2-0 opening win in the region finals.  It was the first win by Katy over District 18-5A rival and champion Cinco Ranch in softball this season, and now the Tigers are just one win away from their first state tournament berth.

        The Softball Regional Finals start Wednesday at Seven Lakes High School.

        The Katy bats came alive at the right times and the defense once again corralled a potent Brazoswood offense to propel the Tigers into the Region III softball finals, 4-2.  Katy now faces nemesis Cinco Ranch in an all 18-5A final to determine which team goes to the state tournament. Katy struck in the first and third innings, leading at one point 4-0 before Brazoswood struck back in the bottom half of the third.  But Katy’s Denise Arnold proved too tough in the pitcher’s circle, scattering eight hits and shutting out the Lady Bucs for six of seven innings.  She pitched a total of 21 innings over the three-game series and afterward said it was especially great to get the win against Brazoswood since the Lady Bucs beat Katy last year in the semis.  Her strategy for getting past Cinco Ranch, which now stands in the Tigers’ path to the state tournament?  “Win,” she said simply. Cinco Ranch defeated Alvin two games to one in the other regional semifinal series. Katy Coach Kalum Haack challenged his seniors after Thursday’s 8-3 loss in which an error-plagued second inning led to five unearned Brazoswood runs, and he said they definitely stepped up on Saturday.  “We’ve seen ourselves play better,” he said after Thursday night’s outing, and the Tigers definitely proved it, saving their best for last as they left no doubt from the start that the offense was back.  In two previous outings against Brazoswood, Tiger hitters could muster just 11 total hits, only three in Friday night’s 2-1 win.  That changed Saturday as Katy came out of the gate with its hitting shoes on.  Stacy Dominique led off with a single, was sacrificed to second by Kasey Henderson then raced home on a single by sophomore catcher Holly Holl.  A walk to Matte Haack and a single by Taran Tyler then chased Brazsoswood starter Lana Hairston, who got Brazoswood’s win in the series opener.  Katy looked poised for a big inning, but Katie McGregor, the Lady Bucs’ starter in Game 2, entered the game to log two quick strike outs to snuff the threat.  Katy added three more runs in the third inning on singles by Holl, Tyler, Victoria Culbertson and a two-run double by Samantha Rickert, who continues to wield a heavy bat for the Tigers.  After Nikki Mack snared a line shot from Haack and relayed it to Brittanie Garay covering second for a double play, Tyler kept the Katy offense alive, singling to left.  Lori Hunsucker drew a walk then Rickert unloaded to drive in Tyler and Hunsucker.  Culbertson’s single scored Rickert. But Brazoswood didn’t give up.   The Lady Bucs answered with two runs of their own in the bottom of the inning when Ashley Kappler singled, and Meagan Bailey hit an inside the park homer to bring them both home.  The Lady Bucs threatened again in the fourth when Lindsey Rushing doubled to deep left, but Rickert’s racing over-the-shoulder catch in shallow right saved the day and ended the threat.  Brazoswood got two runners on in the sixth with two away, but Arnold coaxed a groundout to short to end the inning, then put the Lady Bucs down in order in the seventh to preserve the victory. Brazoswood ends its season with a 33-7-2 record.  McGregor took the loss. Katy now turns its sights on Cinco Ranch, the team that beat them out of the District 18-5A championship.  “We have to get ready for Shannon Smith’s rise ball,” Coach Haack said. A trip to Austin now hangs in the balance for both teams.  

Katy 2, Brazoswood 1 Friday, May 18, 2007 7:00 p.m., Manvel High School Field 5A regional semifinals, game two of best-of-three; series tied   Determined not to duplicate the errors they had in Thursday’s opener, the Katy Tiger softball team used some stellar defense and heads-up base running to even their regional semifinal series with Brazoswood at one game apiece.  The Tigers scratched out two runs in the sixth on two hits and made the lead stand for a 2-1 victory to set up the series’ deciding game on Saturday.   Katy pitcher Denise Arnold allowed the powerful Brazoswood offense seven hits, five over the first six innings, in earning the win, her 24th of the season.  But it was the error-free defensive play of her teammates that snuffed any Brazoswood threats before the seventh.   Coach Kalum Haack’s challenge to his seniors the night before to step up their play did not fall on deaf ears.  The Tiger defense turned two double plays in the game, one on senior Kasey Henderson’s snag of Brazoswood catcher Leslie Johnson’s shot to right center in the first inning, which allowed the Tigers to double off Lady Buc shortstop Brittanie Garay, who reached with Brazoswood’s first hit of the game.    Except for a single by Ashley Kappler in the third and back-to-back singles in the fourth with two away by Kristen Kappler and Taryn Broussard, the Lady Bucs went quietly for five innings.  Outfielders Henderson and Lori Hunsucker, another senior, accounted for seven of Katy’s fifteen defensive outs up to that point.     In the top of the sixth, it was the Katy infield’s turn to provide the defensive heroics.  After Brazoswood’s Meagen Bailey provided a lead off single, Arnold dove to snare a short pop up off Garay’s bat for one out.  Then Katy short stop Matte Haack fielded a grounder from Johnson and threw to senior Samantha Rickert waiting at second, who relayed it to Staci Domineque at first for the double play.  That sent the game into the bottom of the sixth with both teams still scoreless.   That’s when the Katy offense went to work and squeezed two runs out of two hits, a walk and a fielder’s choice.  Domineque led off with a single but was cut down at second on Henderson’s grounder to third.  An infield single by Holly Holl put two Katy runners on with only one out.  Tori Ortega entered the game to pinch run for Holl, then she and Henderson advanced on a double steal.  Haack walked to load the bases.  The Lady Bucs’ Destany Blanchard fielded Taran Tyler’s hit to second and threw home to get the force on Henderson, but the ball ricocheted off Henderson’s helmet and past the plate, giving Katy the lead, 1-0.  In the scramble for the ball, a sliding Ortega beat the tag to plate Katy’s second run.   Brazoswood didn’t go down easily, however.  In the top of the seventh, Kristin Kappler blasted a double to deep center and Broussard followed with a shot of her own, which Henderson hauled down at the fence.  Arnold got Nikki Mack to ground out to Haack at short before Blanchard singled to center to drive in Kappler.  Third baseman Tyler relayed a Lindsey Rushing shot to Domineque at first for the final out to preserve the victory.    Lady Buc pitcher Katie McGregor, who allowed Katy only three hits, took the loss.  She is now 15-4 for the year.    With the win, Katy improves to 25-5 and still has a chance at a rematch with District 18-5A champion Cinco Ranch in the Region III finals.  That is, if the Tigers get by Brazoswood in their third-and-deciding game at 11 a.m.

    The Cinco Ranch Cougars and the Alvin Yellowjackets faced off Friday night to determine who was going on to the Regional Finals next week.

Going into Thursday’s 5A regional semifinal series opener with Brazoswood, the Katy Tigers softball team had to be hoping for much better results than their single-game elimination at the hands of the Lady Bucs in the semis last season.  After surrendering 10 hits and committing four errors in an 8-3 loss at Manvel, Katy now has to be glad it still lives to fight another day. Five unearned runs in the fifth was all Brazoswood starter Lana Hairston needed to pick up her 16th win of the year as she scattered eight Katy hits and struck out 10 for the night. “We’ve got to quit making the errors,” Katy coach Kalum Haack said after the game.  “You’re not going to beat anybody doing that.  The seniors have to step up.”  He said he challenged the senior players to do what it takes to keep the season going.  “No matter what happens, whether we win or lose, the rest of the team comes back next year, but the seniors won’t.”  Katy got on the scoreboard first in the top of the second on a lead off single by Matte Haack, who was three-for-three for the night.  Haack moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Lori Hunsucker, and Samantha Rickert’s slap shot over short brought her home for a 1-0 Katy lead.

     Cinco Ranch and Alvin softball girls played in Game 1 of the regional semifinals playoffs Thursday night at Elkins High School.

  Waltrip High School seniors Alison Heidbreder and Laura Sotiropoulos both signed letters of intent to play softball at Lamar State College-Port Arthur and Hill College this week and have accepted athletic scholarships from their respective colleges.

      In the past two weeks, Waltrip softball coach Darcy Ruffino has suffered a serious knee injury that will require two surgeries in the off season and has had to evacuate her home when her apartment building caught on fire, the latter incident coming a day before her team faced Brenham in the regional quarterfinals.  One would figure her luck had to change in the playoffs.  Last week, it did.  Her team staged a miraculous two-out five-run rally to snatch its first-ever playoff victories against Elgin in the Region III area round.  Against Brenham, however, there would be no miracles, but the Waltrip Lady Rams will not soon forget their historic playoff run. “It was great,” Ruffino said of her team’s playoff run following the Lady Rams’ loss Saturday to the Cubettes, 6-2.  In her eight years at the helm of the Waltrip varsity, the team had never won on the area level until this year.  In 10 years of coaching varsity and junior varsity softball, her teams have yet to lose a district game. “We did something nobody else (in Waltrip softball) has done,” said senior Aubrey Thompson, who played her final varsity game for the Lady Rams Saturday.  She will attend the U.S.

      The Brenham Cubettes used a four-run outburst in the fifth inning to derail the Waltrip softball express in the opener of the teams’ 4A regional quarterfinal series, 5-1, Friday night.  The series winner will face Foster in the Region III semifinals next weekend.

    Game 3 in the regional quarter finals between the Katy Tigers and the Cy Fair Bobcats kicked off Saturday at Cinco Ranch High School.

  The Cinco Ranch Cougars and the Cy Falls’ Eagles regional quarter final game was spread out over Thursday and Friday.

    Katy faced off against Cy-Fair in an afternoon-spanning doubleheader starting at 4 p.m.

  “Awesome” and “historic” were the words on Waltrip fans, players and coaches’ lips after the Lady Rams incredible come-from-behind doubleheader sweep of Elgin Saturday, May 5, for their first ever area 4A softball championship.

  Memorial High School hosted the second game between the Memorial Mustangs and the Katy Tigers on Saturday.

    Waltrip’s fire-balling left-hander Anne Marie Taylor scattered six hits and limited Elgin to just two runs while her teammates provided a stingy defense in their area playoff opener Friday, May 4.  Unfortunately, the Lady Rams could not come up with a timely hit when they needed it and fell to Elgin, 2-1, in the first game of their best-of-three area playoff series in Brenham. Elkins, runner up in District 17-4A, defeated Montgomery 5-0 in the first round of the playoffs, while Waltrip, as 20-4A champion, was given a bye to the second round.  Waltrip got on the board first in the second inning as catcher Pam Straker lined the first of the team’s three hits up the middle for a single.  Straker moved to third on a bunt by first baseman Valerie Garcia and a muffed throw at second then scored on left fielder Aubrey Thompson’s sacrifice fly to center.

      Even though Cypress Falls High School had its prom last night, the softball team had no problem dancing their way into regional quarterfinals round of playoffs after a 6-1 victory over Lamar at Spring Woods softball field Saturday afternoon. This match started as an all out pitchers duel as Cy Falls’ Diana Espinal and Lamar’s Kelsey Goodwin went pitch-for-pitch for several innings.

      FIRST GAME Cinco Ranch and MacArthur faced off at Friday night's softball game for the beginning of their three-game series at 6:00 pm.

        Katy High School hosted Game 1 of the series between the Memorial Mustangs and the Katy Tigers softball playoffs.

      In a TAPPS bi-district softball match up, Second Baptist was en route to moving on to the next level of playoff action Monday night against Dallas Parish Episcopal.

  With bi-district complete, the area round of the Region III 5A softball playoffs begins Thursday, May 3.  The following is the complete schedule of dates, times, and locations for all series.

  The Lamar Redskins and the Spring Woods Tigers played Saturday at Butler Stadium in the Region III District 5A Playoffs.

  Saturday at Morton Ranch High School in Katy, the Cinco Ranch Cougars took on the Langham Creek Lobos in Game 2 of a best-of-three series to determine who would move on to the area round of the 5A softball playoffs.  The Cougars entered Game 2 with a 1-0 series lead after a 6-0 victory over the Lobos on Friday night.  Cinco Ranch reached the bi-district round after claiming the District 18-5A title with an overall record of 25-5, while Langham Creek punched their ticket with a fourth-place finish in District 17-5A and a record of 11-12 on the year.

      All photos by Hassan Abushaaban.   The Memorial Mustangs and the Chavez Lobos battled it out at Barnett Stadium Friday night in the 5A bi-district softball playoffs.  Memorial entered the game with a season record of 21-10, fresh off their undefeated run through District 19-5A, while Chavez, who claimed fourth place in District 20–5A, came into the contest at 8-9 on the year.

  Cinco Ranch became the 19-5A District Champions on Tuesday beating Katy with a final score of 8-3.

      The Waltrip Lady Rams capped a perfect district run with a perfect game, shutting out the Sharpstown Apollos, 19-0, to finish undefeated in District 20-4A.

    The battle for a play-off berth in District 19-5A softball was put to rest tonight as Spring Woods took the win in overtime against Stratford.3-2.

    The Seven Lakes Spartans hosted the Terry Rangers Saturday.

    The South Zone Softball Tournament continued play at St.

    The Memorial Mustang girls not only pulled off the 19-5A District Championship tonight but they did so for the second time in row beating Stratford 2-1.

The MacArthur Generals took on the Nimitz Cougars Friday.

In a tough defensive softball game that remained scoreless through six innings, Kinkaid’s late-game push was the deciding factor in a 1-0 victory over SPC rival Episcopal. Pitchers Sydney Friday (Kinkaid) and Kellie Nolen (Episcopal) faced off on the mound.

  Under crystal blue skies the Lady Eagles of Second Baptist met the Lady Eagles of Faith West in a pitcher’s duel Thursday night at the Second Baptist High School softball field.

The Kinkaid Falcons hosted the St.

    Centerfielder Anne Marie Taylor’s two homeruns highlighted the Waltrip Lady Rams’ 25-0 softball victory over District 20-4A opponent Davis on a cold, blustery Saturday afternoon at the Waltrip High School field. Waltrip pitcher Abby Schumacher no-hit the Davis team for her fourth win of the season and, along with Taylor, helped lead a 20-run scoring tear in the second inning when she also slammed a triple.  It took an inning for the high-powered Waltrip offense to get on track.  The Lady Rams managed just two runs in the frame, starting with Taylor’s first home run, a solo shot to right.  Two hit batters, a walk and a passed ball led to the Lady Ram’s only other run in the first. The second inning was another story, however.  Waltrip accounted for most of its eight hits in the frame.

    The Stratford Spartans faced the Spring Woods Tigers for an intense district game.

    The Nimitz Cougars hosted the Memorial Mustangs Wednesday night on the softball field.

  Denise Arnold of the Katy Tigers improved her record to 16-3 Tuesday night with a big victory over the Katy Taylor Mustangs.

  The normally prolific Waltrip scoring attack was limited to six hits against non-district foe Magnolia West as the Lady Rams dropped a close one in seven innings, 4-3, Tuesday afternoon, April 10. Sophomore pitcher Abby Schumacher, now 3-4 on the season, took the loss, allowing the Mustangs just five hits in the five innings she worked.

The two number one TAPPS 4-5A teams hit the field Tuesday night at Second Baptist High School.

  Two District 19-5A second place teams battled it out Thursday night at Stratford High School.

  A fifth inning surge by the Mayde Creek softball team propelled them over Katy Taylor Thursday night with a 5-0 victory.

  For the second time this season the Cinco Ranch Cougars have shut out Morton Ranch on the softball field.

The Spring Woods girls took on Nimitz at home in a game that was low scoring and went seven innings in favor of the Lady Cougars.

  The Stratford lady Spartans took on the Eisenhower lady Eagles on Tuesday at Stratford High School.