College softball: Lady Wranglers beat Midland College again, earn trip to nationals
BIG SPRING Call it peaking at exactly the right time. Or perhaps a little retribution.
Whatever the case is, Odessa College's softball team is headed back to the NJCAA National Championships for the first time since 2006.
The Lady Wranglers earned their national trip Sunday by blanking Midland College 9-0 for the title in the Region V West Tournament at Howard College's Foundation Field.
Odessa College (35-26), which had lost to Midland College (49-15) five times during the regular season, rode a three-hit shutout from freshman pitcher Katelyn Stanley along with timely offense from several players and a third consecutive error-less game by the defense in the tournament.
"It's hard to explain because we expected to do it," OC head coach Joel Prickett said. "But I think if you asked anybody else, nobody would've. It's just we don't ever worry about wins and losses, we just focus on getting better and the girls did a good job of it throughout the season."
The Lady Wranglers were seeded third in the four-team tournament and beat Clarendon College 4-2 and Midland College 5-0 in the opening rounds of the tournament Saturday. Midland then beat Clarendon in Sunday's elimination game to force the championship round showdown against OC.
It was exactly the same scenario as last season, when OC went 2-0 on the opening day of the tournament but then lost twice against Midland College on the final day to fall just one victory short of the national tournament.
"It was one of those live and learn situations," Prickett said. "Last year I stole some of their thunder because I was so worried about being overconfident after the first day. This year, I let them ride their emotions a little bit because looking back at a year ago, that was a coaching mistake."
The game was scoreless through the first three innings before Angel Castro put Odessa College on the board with a two-out double in the top of the fourth. Castro also had a two-out single to score the opening run in Saturday's victory against the Lady Chaps.
That 1-0 lead was all the Lady Wranglers had until the top of the sixth when Amanda Baldonado hit a three-run home run with two outs. The Lady Wranglers had loaded the bases with one out, but Khiana Carter was called out on a steal attempt for leaving third base too early.
Then in the top of the seventh, Louisa Stover helped seal the deal with a three-run home run - her second homer of the tournament and her 15th of the season.
Baldonado, Stover, Carter and Castro all had two hits to help lead the Lady Wranglers attack. Carter also scored two runs while Alisha Carrasco was 2-for-3 with one run scored.
"We're a team that really thinks about destiny and your path in life," Prickett said. "Your goal is never in April. It's always in May and I think the girls did a good job of remembering that."
In winning the tournament, the Lady Wranglers have built a four-game winning streak. They did win four consecutive games late in April in a series sweep, but that came against a 13-43 El Paso Community College team.
Odessa College's victories Saturday and Sunday came against teams it was 2-7 against during the regular season.
Because of the clutch performances, the Lady Wranglers advanced to play May 14-16 at the NJCAA National Championships in St. George, Utah. Now their goal can be to improve upon the program's only two trips to the national tournament - a third-place showing in 2005 and a fifth-place finish in 2006.
>> Odessa College 9, Midland College 0
REGION V WEST TOURNAMENT
Championship
At Howard College, Big Spring
Odessa College....... 000 103 5 - 9 14 0
Midland College..... 000 000 0 - 0 3 1
Katelyn Stanley and Dominique Salazar. Clarissa Molina, Amanda Woodward (6), Carly Briton (7), Kristen Marris (7) and Dina Ortiz, Tiffaney King (6). W - Katelyn Stanley (15-12). L - Clarissa Molina (12-4). 2B - Odessa College: Angel Castro, Amanda Baldonado. HR - OC: Amanda Baldonado, Louisa Stover.
Records: Odessa College 35-26; Midland College 49-15.
