Softball: Lady Bronchos fall in state semifinals

AUSTIN The slipper didn't fit.

The Odessa High softball team, on a high after reaching the UIL Class 5A State Softball Championships for the first time, saw its season strike midnight when it lost to Alvin 5-0 on Friday in the semifinal round at McCombs Field.

OHS (33-5-3) fell one victory shy of playing for the state championship.

"We weren't able to get anything started," OHS coach Stephanie Graham said. "We didn't hit the ball, and Alvin is a good hitting team and they did hit the ball."

Alvin senior left-hander Amber Anderson allowed three hits and struck out eight.

Alvin (34-9), also making its first state tournament appearance, will play either Austin Bowie or two-time defending state champion Garland for the championship at 8 p.m. today.

 "It's a disappointing end to the season, but I told the girls that they have raised the bar for this team, the school and for softball in West Texas," said Graham, whose team was the first from District 3-5A to reach the state tournament since Midland Lee in 1995

OHS starter Hillary Phillips struck out one and the Lady Bronchos made two mistakes in the seventh inning that allowed Alvin to score three runs.

Alvin took the lead in the third inning when Megan Knippa singled, stole second, moved to third on Alexis Joseph's single and scored on a wild pitch. Joseph scored on Jessica Savage's double to left field that spun away from Mia Hignojos.

"They didn't hit the ball real hard in that inning," Phillips said. "They just hit the right spots and scored a couple of runs."

Graham said that she could "see the players get down a little bit."

"I tried to tell them that we still had plenty of time to get back in the game," she said.

OHS tried to rally in its half of the third.

Hignojos hit a one-out single up the middle, but she was forced at second by Chelsey Walters' ground ball to shortstop. Walters moved to second on Kristy Smith's single to left, but Joseph picked up a ground ball to short by Lopez and tagged Walters as the OHS runner passed.

Phillips struck out Meghan Gomez to lead off the seventh, but Kelsi Kettler hit an opposite-field single to left. Natalie Farias then tried to sacrifice Kettler to second, but Farias was safe at first on a throwing error by third baseman Courtney Cernoch.

After Knippa flied out to center fielder Keely Wharton, Walters appeared to be distracted by Kettler running in front of her on a grounder and committed Odessa High's second throwing error of the inning to load the bases. Savage then hit a two-out triple down the right-field line to clear the bases and give Alvin a 5-0 lead.

"I know that we are a state championship-caliber team," Smith said. "I don't know why, but we just didn't play our game, and I don't understand it. It hurts right now, because we are so much better than we played. So much better."