CELINA LADYCATS 2011
Queens of the Diamond: Celina softball wins first state title
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@acnpapers.com
Published: Saturday, June 4, 2011 7:48 PM CDT
AUSTIN -- After last season's Game 3 loss to Paris North Lamar in the Region II Finals, Celina softball head coach Billy Coleman said, "you never know how things might play out, but I expect us to be back."
The Lady Cats were back and are now at the front of the softball pack.
Celina defeated West, 5-1, Saturday afternoon to win the Class 3A State Championship one day after outlasting Huntington, 4-3 in 11 innings, in the state semifinals.
"These kids came out today and expected to win," Coleman said. "It didn't matter how big the stage was, they just treated this like another game on another field. It's tough to win a state championship, but these kids have had that goal in mind all season and anything less was going to be unacceptable to them."
Celina set the tempo by scoring in the top of the first inning.
"West is obviously a good team or else they wouldn't be there," said Katelyn Drummond, Celina junior, "so we figured getting out early on them could only help our chances."
The Lady Cats got singles from juniors Claudia Cantu, Shelby Carter and Paige Mongillo in the first with the third of the bunch scoring a run as Cantu just beat the tag at home. That was a theme of the afternoon as Celina scored three runs by sliding under a tag at the dish with a fourth scoring after beating a throw to the plate.
"Coming in we decided we were just going to let all hang out and see what happens," Coleman said.
West would get that run back in the bottom of the second, and tie the score at 1-1, following hits from Jordan Horn and Heather Perry. But that was one of the few rallies the Lady Trojans got going against Drummond, who improved to 30-6 on the season with the complete-game victory. The other came in the fifth following a single by Megan Allred and Mariah Reese. Allred attempted to advance from first to third base following Reese's single, but was tagged out following a rocket throw from left field by Cantu.
But that may not have been the biggest play Cantu made Saturday.
Cantu smacked a double to left centerfield with one out in the third inning and then scored following a single from Carter, who had three hits, three runs, an RBI and was named the game's MVP. The throw home beat Cantu, but she avoided the tag and lunged back to touch the plate and give Celina a 2-1 lead.
"We knew West had a tough defense, so we had to score any way we could today," Cantu said. "If we saw a chance, we had to take it."
Mongillo picked up her second hit and RBI shortly thereafter to make it 3-1.
That score would remain until the top of the seventh. In that frame, singles from junior Lindsie Knowles and Carter put a pair of Lady Cats in scoring position before Drummond brought them home with a 2-RBI single that made it 5-1. Those base knocks were part of a 12-hit output from Celina which included singles from junior Taylor Norris and freshman Janie Knowles.
"Before the seventh, coach said we needed to get two runs to build up a better cushion," Carter said.
The additional runs no doubt provided solace for a Celina team that has struggled at times in the seventh inning this season.
"That seventh inning was definitely big," Coleman said. "Not only did it give us momentum, it also appeared to deflate them because now instead of scoring two runs they have to score four runs."
But even with a more sizable lead, the Lady Cats were not entirely comfortable.
"Oh my gosh," the elder Knowles said, "I think I was more nervous in that seventh inning than I was for the rest of the game."
It turned out Knowles and the rest of the Lady Cats had nothing to worry about as Drummond wrapped up her second straight three-up, three-down inning with a strikeout to clinch Celina's first softball state championship. Drummond ended the game with a strikeout.
"When they said it was strike three," Drummond said, "it felt so good."
The Lady Cats would rush the field as memories of 2006's state semifinal defeat against Weimar, 2009's title game loss to Needville and 2010's regional finals defeat at the hands of North Lamar faded away.
"We've had to fight the past few years to get back here, so to finally win a state title is amazing," Coleman said. "To watch these girls set a goal at the end of last season and then reach that ultimate goal is incredible."
Celina defeats West 5-1 for the 3A state title
By Mark Dent / Reporter
AUSTIN -- Behind clutch hitting from Paige Mongillo and Shelby Carter and pitching from Katelyn Drummond, Celina defeated West 5-1, winning the 3A state title.
Celina took a 1-0 lead in the top of the first inning when a Mongillo single, with two outs, scored Shelby Carter.
After West tied the game in the second, Celina quickly retook the lead in the third. Claudia Cantu doubled and then scored on a Carter single, and Mongillo singled to score Carter.
Celina added two more runs in the seventh, Drummond driving in Lindsie Knowles and Carter scoring on an errant throw.
Drummond pitched a complete game, growing stronger as the game went on. She didn't allow a base runner in the last two innings.
Celina wins 3A softball title: pitcher admits 'I was really scared'
By MARK DENT
Staff Writer
Published 04 June 2011 07:06 PM
AUSTIN — The ending unfolded the way state championships are supposed to, an It’s a Wonderful Life quality scene of jubilation erupting in live time.
Celina pitcher Katelyn Drummond struck out a West batter, clinching the victory and waiting for a mob of teammates to engulf her.
Celina had won Saturday’s Class 3A softball state final against West, 5-1, in routine fashion at Red & Charline McCombs Field. Good pitching, timely hitting and then, yes, that celebration.
It really wasn’t so easy.
“When I woke up,” Drummond said, “I was really scared.”
When Drummond woke up, she could barely see. Her right eye was nearly swollen shut.
The night before, she had complained to her mother of slight pain. Drummond thought nothing of it.
Carefree had morphed into panic by morning. She told her roommates and then went straight to the coaches and trainer.
She took Ibuprofen, which led to a headache. She took migraine medicine, and she took an antibiotic. No one could pinpoint the cause of the eye problem.
Game time rolled around and her head still hurt. Her vision wasn’t perfect. And she had to wear sunglasses that poked into her bad eye.
Catcher Paige Mongillo provided the encouragement. She allayed Drummond’s fears before the game and as it went on.
“I told her, ‘You got this,’-” Mongillo said.
Mongillo also picked her up offensively. Her two-out single in the first drove in Celina’s first run. A two-out single in the third drove in another run. That third-inning rally, which included an RBI from title game MVP Shelby Carter, gave Celina (36-6-3) a 3-1 lead.
It also gave Drummond confidence. She admitted to not having her best stuff at the beginning.
As the game wore on, she improved. In the sixth, she recorded her first 1-2-3 inning and first strikeout. The seventh followed the same pattern, 1-2-3 punctuated with that strikeout, that ending.
Drummond (30-6), who finished with a five-hitter, was the last one off the field when the game ended and Celina had won its first state title in softball. She wore an ice pack on her right forearm.
The swelling had receded on her eye. A few hours and a championship had turned the problem into a small bump.
“It feels good now,” she said.
Celina defeats Huntington on walk-off home run, advances to state final
By
12:04 PM on Fri., Jun. 3, 2011 | Permalink
AUSTIN -- Shelby Carter, Celina's top hitter in the regular season and the playoffs, hit a solo home run in the bottom of the 11th inning, leading Celina to a 4-3 victory against Huntington.
Celina will advance to play West in the final on Saturday.
Celina had taken a 3-0 lead but allowed three runs in the sixth inning. At the same time, it went into an offensive slump as pitcher Erica Wright retired all its batters from the fourth to the tenth inning.
Carter's homer ended the slump and broke the tie. And it sent Celina to state final.
WEB EXCLUSIVE: Lovejoy can't beat the Drummond
BY Kevin Hageland, khageland@acnpapers.com
Published: Friday, May 27, 2011 4:34 PM CDT
ALLEN -- One year ago, Celina ended the longest run in Lovejoy softball history.
One year later and one round further, the Lady Cats are one win away from dealing the Lady Leopards the same fate.
Celina got out to a 1-0 lead in the best-of-3 Region II Finals series Thursday night after a 10-5 victory that featured every bit the amount of offense the final score would imply.
"It was a little frustrating overall," said Amanda Douglas, Lovejoy head coach, "and I know [sophomore pitcher Brittany Lewis] was frustrated because she felt like she had to throw the ball right down the middle to get a strike call. And when you do that against a good team like Celina, they are going to hit the ball and they are going to hit it hard."
Leading the charge for Celina was the trio of juniors Lindsie Knowles, Shelby Carter and Taylor Norris, all of whom had at least three hits. Knowles was 4-for-5 with three RBIs and two runs scored, Norris was 3-for-4 with two runs and Carter was 3-for-5 with three RBIs and needed only a triple to complete the cycle.
"With those girls, they know how to wait for their pitch," said Billy Coleman, Celina head coach. "And when they get their pitch, they don't miss."
Carter essentially put the game away in the top of the seventh when she blasted a two-run homer to make it 10-5.
The final score represented Celina's largest lead of the evening, but the Lady Cats threatened to break the game open multiple times before that. Those advantages didn't get larger though as Celina stranded six runners in scoring position, five of which were in the first three innings.
"You've gotta get the big hits in key situations," Coleman said. "I feel like we got some of those early and put pressure on them, but we could have done a better job."
Celina held leads of 4-0 and 6-2, but Lovejoy pulled to within 6-5 by the seventh.
"The girls never gave up," Douglas said, "and I think this showed them that they can come back at any time."
The Lady Leopards didn't have a hit off Lady Cats junior pitcher Katelyn Drummond in the first three innings, but got the offense going in the fourth and fifth.
In both innings, the heart of the Lovejoy order caused chaos.
A walk to Lovejoy junior Annie Frye, singles by sophomore Sammi Curry, junior Brooke Puckett and senior Melissa Schreck as well as a ground out by Lewis scored two runs in the fourth while the Lady Leopards added another three in the fifth courtesy of a Celina error, and hits from Curry, Puckett and Lewis to pull within 6-5.
The Lady Cats had three actual errors on the night to go along with a pair of mental errors.
"We definitely did not play defense the way we wanted to," Coleman said. "It's a big game, so you can handle one error maybe because of nerves, but defense has been our strong suit all season and we have to eliminate the problems we had tonight if we want to get to Austin."
The defensive lapses almost put Lovejoy in the lead, but Celina's bats gave the team its cushion back as they accounted for 12 hits on the night.
The final two came in the seventh as a double off the wall from Norris and homer by Carter put Celina one game from state.
But don't look for the Lady Cats to be overconfident.
Celina won the opener of last season's regional finals before dropping two straight games to eventual Class 3A State Champion Paris North Lamar.
"Anybody that gets this far is good and we know that Lovejoy is not going to lay down and die," Coleman said. "It was a battle tonight and we expect a battle tomorrow night. We wanted to go to state last year and feel like we had that opportunity taken from us, so we don't want to let that happen again."
Celina is looking to get back to state for the first time since 2009 while Lovejoy is seeking its first trip to state in program history. To do so, the Lady Leopards will now have to win two straight.
"We got close, but then we had a bit of a lapse in focus and you saw that in the seventh inning," Douglas said. "We can't have that happen again and we need to have hits go out of the infield. We can't score if we don't hit the ball into the outfield and into the gaps more.
"We need to get started quick and get ahead."
The series resumes at 7 p.m. today from Allen High School with Game 3, if necessary, at 7 p.m. Saturday from Allen.
5/28/11
Celina 7, Lovejoy 6: Paige Mongillo’s walk-off, two-out RBI single to left scored Shelby Carter in the bottom of the seventh as Celina completed a two-game sweep of the Class 3A Region II final and advanced to the state tournament after a one-year absence.
Lovejoy tied the score, 6-6, in the top of the seventh on Autumn Keefer’s two-out RBI single that scored Lindy Leggett.
Celina scored five runs in the first with the help of a three-run home run by Taylor Norris. Baylor signee Melissa Schreck was 3-for-4, including a two-run single in the fifth that cut Celina’s lead to 6-5.
Updated Thursday, May 26, 2011 10:53 PM
Celina 10, Lovejoy 5: In Allen, Lindsie Knowles and Shelby Carter combined for seven hits and had three RBIs apiece as Celina overcame seven errors to defeat Lovejoy, 10-5, to open the Class 3A Region II final at Allen High School.
Knowles tripled to go 4-for-5, and Shelby Carter doubled and homered to go 3-for-5 for Celina (33-6-3), which resumes the series tonight at 7 p.m. at Allen.
Carter’s two-run homer over the left field fence capped a four-run seventh for Celina, which committed all its miscues between the fourth and sixth to help Lovejoy (28-7) stay in the game.
Lovejoy up next for Lady Cats
BY Chris O’Dell, codell@acnpapers.com
Published: Friday, May 27, 2011 2:01 PM CDT
The Celina softball team hasn’t had to hold its breath so far in the playoffs.
The Lady Cats continued their postseason dominance last week, improving to 6-0 in the playoffs with a pair of victories over Henderson in a best-of-3 set.
The Lady Cats defeated their regional semi-final opponent 7-2 in Game 1 Thursday night and 6-5 in Game 2 Friday, putting Celina into the Region II finals this week.
“We played tremendous [against Henderson],” said Billy Coleman, Celina head coach. “We showed a lot of heart and battled the whole series.”
With the two-game sweep of Henderson, Celina is now set for a three-game series against Lovejoy. Game 1 of the new series will begin tonight at 7 p.m. at Allen High School.
“To get to where we are now is a huge accomplishment,” Coleman said. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team right now.”
Starting pitcher Katelyn Drummond earned both wins on the mound for Celina, surrendering just two unearned runs in Game 1 and two earned runs in Game 2. The Lady Cats ace gave up just four hits in each contest.
“We didn’t want to go three games with them,” Coleman said. “We wanted to make sure it ended in two.”
Drummond is slated to pitch every game of the three-game series with the Lady Leopards and will likely face Lovejoy sophomore pitcher Brittany Lewis in each contest.
“We’ll have Katelyn on the mound for us in all three and I’m sure they’ll have Lewis on the mound in all three for them,” Coleman said.
Lewis isn’t likely to intimidate the Lady Cats after the Celina offense poured in 13 runs over two games against Henderson’s ace pitcher, who had shut down opponents all season long before facing the Celina offense last week.
“To keep a team like that down and to score 13 runs in two games on a pitcher of that caliber speaks volumes about our offense,” Coleman said.
Game 2 of the series will begin tomorrow at 7 p.m. with a potential third game scheduled for 7 p.m. Saturday. Each game of the series will be held at Allen High School.
“We’re not going to overlook Lovejoy,” Coleman said. “We know it will be a battle with them.”
Despite being in the regional finals, Coleman said the Lady Cats are far from pleased with their season so far. The team has one goal on its mind and it’s the same one since before the season began several months ago.
“We still have one thing in mind and that’s getting back to Austin and winning a championship,” he said.
“They’ve had that goal the entire year,” he said. “They expect to be here and they expect to be in Austin.”
The two teams squared off in an early-season contest that saw Celina earn a 5-4 win in the late-February match.
“Both teams are completely different now,” Coleman said. “This series is going to be a flat-out battle.”
If Celina takes two of the three games against Lovejoy, the Lady Cats will advance to the Texas State Softball Tournament June 2-4 at McCombs Field at the University of Texas in Austin.
“When you get this far,” Coleman said, “nothing is easy.”
Celina takes series lead
BY BILL SPINKS
HERALD DEMOCRAT
ALLEN -- Celina's softball team is one win away from its third trip to Austin, but head coach Billy Coleman is warning against overconfidence.
After all, last year the Lady Bobcats won Game 1 of their Class 3A Region II final series, but went on to lose the following two games to eventual state champion Paris North Lamar.
"We haven't done anything to celebrate yet," Coleman said. "It's a series. We know they're going to come out and battle tomorrow, and we wouldn't expect anything less."
The Lady Cats (33-6-3) overcame some late-inning drama against Lucas Lovejoy on Thursday night at Allen High School as the Lady Leopards whittled into an early Celina lead before a four-run seventh, capped by Shelby Carter's two-run home run, sent them to a 10-5 Game 1 win.
Carter also singled and doubled, and Taylor Norris finished with three doubles for Celina, which finished with 12 hits.
"Either it's there or it's not, and if it's your pitch, go for it," Norris said. "Those happened to be my pitches. I had to work for it."
Game 2 is tonight at 7 p.m., with a decisive third game set for Saturday night if needed.
Celina pitcher Katelyn Drummond sailed through the first three innings, but the second time up, Lovejoy (26-9) began to hit the ball against her and scored two runs in the fourth and three more in the fifth, making it a 6-5 game.
"That's what happens a lot of times," Drummond said. "It's just something you've got to know about. "They're going to see the ball the second time around, You have to either change up your pitching or be ready in the field."
The Lady Cats committed five errors total, including three in the bottom of the fifth inning. But they buckled down in the sixth and seventh to keep Lovejoy off the scoreboard.
"We made some plays that weren't good that helped them back in the game," Coleman said. "Talk about being resilient. Those kids might make an error, but they keep battling and get after it defensively. That's what's going to get you to Austin."
Having a resilient offense also helps.
In the seventh, Norris led off with her third double of the night off the right field wall, went to third on Janie Knowles' successful bunt, and then slid safely under the tag at home on an Olivia Braddock grounder to third, bumping the lead to two runs.
One out later, Braddock scored from second on a throwing error, and Carter followed with her two-run shot to left, her 12th homer of the year, to break it open.
"We talk a lot about being disciplined at the plate," Coleman said. "They did a great job of that tonight."
The Lady Cats took an early lead in the first on Paige Mongillo's sacrifice fly, then made it 3-0 on Lindsie Knowles' triple into the gap in right center, scoring Norris and sister Janie.
Carter, who finished with three RBI and was short by a triple of the cycle, singled home Lindsie Knowles in the top of the fourth to make it 4-0 before the Lady Leopards started to get back into the game.
But in the end, the Lady Cats emerged in the same spot as they were at last year: One win away from Austin.
"I don't ever doubt my team," Norris said. "We're very strong together, and we know if we play together, then there's nothing we can't do."
5/22/11
Celina 6, Henderson 5: Pitcher Katelyn Drummond hit a three-run double in the bottom of the sixth that gave Celina a 6-3 lead, and the state’s fourth-ranked 3A team swept the Region II semifinal series. Lindsie Knowles was 3-for-4 with two runs and an RBI for Celina (32-6-3).
Updated Saturday, May 21, 2011 10:58 PM
Softball Roundup: Celina rolls on
HERALD DEMOCRAT
LUCAS -- Katelyn Drummond hit a tiebreaking three-run double in the sixth, lifting Celina over Henderson, 6-5, in Game 2 on Saturday and completing a sweep of a Class 3A Region II semifinal series finished at Lovejoy High School.
Drummond also allowed only four hits and two earned runs with three strikeouts for the complete-game win for Celina (32-6-3) which advanced to play Lovejoy in the Region II final later this week. Last year, Celina swept Lovejoy in the regional semifinals.
Lindsie Knowles had three hits, scored twice and drove in one for Celina to finish the series 6-for-8.
Paige Mongillo joined Knowles with an RBI and also doubled as did Shelby Carter, who finished the series 3-for-5.
5/20/11
Celina 7, Henderson 2: Shelby Carter went 2-for-4 with two home runs and four RBIs to lead Celina to victory in Game 1 of a best-of-3 Class 3A Region II semifinal series. Lindsie Knowles tripled twice for Celina and finished 3-for-4 with an RBI, and Katelyn Drummond pitched a four-hitter. Game 2 is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday at North Forney.
Stayin’ Alive: Lady Cats keep rolling
BY Chris O’Dell, codell@acnpapers.com
Published: Friday, May 20, 2011 1:41 PM CDT
The Celina softball team has cruised to a 36-3 mark this season after a pair of blowout victories against Anna last week.
More importantly, the Lady Bobcats have earned a trip to the regional semi-finals, with a best-of-3 series against Henderson now on the team’s postseason slate.
“Henderson has a lot of good players,” said Billy Coleman, Celina head coach. “It will all come down to which team plays the best defense and gets timely hitting.”
The Lady Bobcats earned the spot in the Class 3A regional semi-finals by defeating Anna 14-0 and 13-3 in back-to-back games of a three-game set.
Game 1 saw starting pitcher Katelyn Drummond dominate the Anna lineup, surrendering only one hit in a complete game shutout.
Drummond’s effort allowed Celina to run-rule their competition after the team managed to outhit its counterparts 16-to-1 in the five-inning game.
“[Anna] was playing a lot better ball coming into the game than they were earlier in the season,” Coleman said. “We were just able to dominate at the plate though.”
The second game of the series featured pitcher Kassidy Holmes on the hill. The Celina starter went the distance in the game, pitching all five innings and surrendering just three runs en route to a 13-3 win.
“[Anna] jumped on us early,” Coleman said. “They ended up scoring three runs in that first inning before we finally got it together.”
The Lady Bobcats might have trailed 3-0 early, but the team put together 13 unanswered runs to prevail with a 10-run victory in a five-inning contest that put the run-rule into play for the second straight game.
The two-game sweep of Anna gives the Lady Bobcats a shot at redemption against a Henderson team that defeated Celina 5-3 in a Feb. 17 contest in the Sulfur Springs Tournament.
“We’re definitely not the same team we were on Feb. 17,” Coleman said. “We were missing a lot of people at that time.”
The two teams will square off in a three-game series that begins tonight at 7 p.m. at Northeast Texas Community College in Mount Pleasant.
The series will then shift to North Forney High School for Game 2 and end back in Mount Pleasant if a third game is needed.
“Each round you advance, the competition gets better and better,” Coleman said.
Celina will have Drummond back on the mound for Game 1 tonight, as the Lady Bobcats look to take the early lead in the series.
“We got here by relying on her,” Coleman said. “We’re going to keep on riding her for as long as we’re still alive.”
Coleman said the team would likely start Holmes in Game 2, as the team did against Anna, with Drummond slated to start a possible third and decisive game.
“This is a hungry team,” he said. “We’re going to scratch and claw as much as we can and fight until the end.”
If the Lady Bobcats take the best-of-3 series with Henderson, a Region II finals matchup with Lucas Lovejoy or North Lamar awaits.
Specifics on the potential regional finals matchup will be determined this weekend.
5/14/11
Celina ousts Anna from softball postseason
BY MARCUS ELLIOTT
ANNA-MELISSA TRIBUNE
McKINNEY -- Anna got off to a fast start but Celina finished strong to claim the regional quarterfinal series on Saturday afternoon at McKinney Boyd High School. It was the second game of the series, the Lady Bobcats shut out Anna in the opener 14-0.
No one expected the Lady Coyotes to get this far and for second year head coach Tressi Brown she is excited that her team had the chance to play this deep into the playoffs.
"We overcame a lot this year and playing here lets the girls know that they are good enough," Brown said after the game. "This is about building tradition. The girls did a good job coming together to win three straight must-win games and I am proud of them."
Courtney Gililland hit a single over the second baseman to get the game going for Anna. Brittany Hernsberger then hit a single through the gap to advance Gililland into scoring position.
Anna's pitcher, Lauren Williams, came to bat next and hit an RBI double to center field to get Anna on the board first. Hitting cleanup was catcher Whitney Love and she hit an RBI single to score Hearnsberger.
Centerfielder Cassidy Price then came to plate and put a perfectly-placed ball into left field to bring in another run and give Anna a 3-0 lead in the first inning. Celina had three straight singles in the bottom of the frame to load the bases for Kassidy Holmes who hit a two RBI double to left field to cut the lead to one.
Taylor Norris then came to bat and hit a single that scored Holmes and Katelyn Drummond to give the Lady Bobcats a 4-3 lead at the end of the first.
"They had a good first inning but we came out and played our game and played smart softball," Celina coach Billy Coleman said. "We stayed patient at the plate, waiting on a good pitch and took advantage when we got the right pitch."
The Lady Cats put the game out of reach in the second inning with a seven-run showing after Olivia Braddock started the inning with a stand up triple. Before the end of the inning, Braddock would hit again, this time a double that would bring in the seventh run of the inning to put Celina up nine after two.
Braddock had another RBI, this time in the fourth to put the Lady Bobcats up by 10 and allow for the run-rule finish after four and a half innings.
Celina will now advance to play Henderson in the regional semifinals. Henderson defeated Crandall in two. The games will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 7 p.m., the location has not yet been determined.
"We've played hard-hitting, fast pitching teams like Rusk and Brownwood to help get us ready to play at this level," Coleman said. "They won't be a surprise to us, nor will we be one to them. Whoever makes plays and hits the ball will win the series."
Taking nothing lightly: Lady Cats ready for Anna
BY Chris O’Dell, codell@acnpapers.com
Published: Wednesday, May 11, 2011 8:09 PM CDT
With a pair of 11-1 and 25-1 victories over Anna earlier in the season, it might be easy for the Celina softball team to take their second-round matchup lightly.
However, that isn’t the case for the Lady Bobcats, as they start a three-game series against their District 10-3A foes today with a 6:30 p.m. game against Anna at McKinney Boyd High School.
“They’re obviously not the same team that we played earlier in the year,” said Billy Coleman, Celina head coach. “They’ve started playing better. So our approach to the series is going to be the same as it would with any other team we play.”
Coleman said despite the 10-run and 24-run victories earlier in the season, Anna is still a team that reached the regional quarterfinals of the Class 3A state softball playoffs.
“They’re a different team and we’re a different team,” he said.
The pair of district wins over Anna allowed Celina to complete a perfect district schedule, going 8-0 on the season. The team’s overall season mark entering today’s game is 28-6-3.
“Without a doubt we are playing our best softball of the season right now,” Coleman said. “We’re exactly where we want to be at this point in the season.”
The team is coming off a sweep of Princeton in the opening round of the playoffs. The Lady Bobcats defeated their first postseason opponent 6-5 in Game 1 and 11-6 in Game 2 to advance to the regional quarterfinal matchup with Anna.
The Lady Bobcats will have starting pitcher Katelyn Drummond on the mound for Game 1 of the second-round series. Coleman said he’d like to start and end the series with Drummond on the hill, whether that means her closing Game 2 or starting in Games 1 and 3 of the series.
“If it goes to a third game, [Drummond] should be good to go by then,” he said. “We’ll just have to play it by ear.”
The second game of the series is scheduled for 1 p.m. Saturday at the same location. If a third game is necessary, it would also be held at Boyd with a 3 p.m. first pitch.
“If you don’t win, you’re done,” Coleman said. “We know that and so we aren’t going to be over-confident going into the series.”
One thing Celina won’t have to worry about heading into the three-game set is the health of the team. Coleman said everyone should be 100 percent entering tonight’s contest.
“We’re finally getting everyone back,” he said. “Having everybody healthy for the first time in a while should be real good for us.”
The health and depth of the team caused Coleman to push for a three-game set, rather than a one-gamer. He said Anna preferred a one-game series and the two teams were forced to do a coin flip to determine the length of the series.
“Nine times out of 10 the best team will win a three-game series,” he said. “I’d rather have the satisfaction of knowing a team beat us twice in three games than knowing a team might have won just one fluke game.”
If the Lady Bobcats continue their winning ways against Anna and take two of the three games, Celina will take on the winner of Henderson and Van in the regional semi-finals.
The game features two top-10 teams in the state, with Van and Henderson ranked fifth and sixth, respectively.
Specifics for the possible third-round matchup will not be determined until the weekend. However, Coleman and his team remain focused on the current task at hand.
“We aren’t taking [Anna] lightly at all,” he said. “The girls are going to play hard and not take anything for granted.”
5/7/11
Celina 11, Princeton 6: Taylor Norris was 3-for-3 with a double and home run, and Shelby Carter went 3-for-5 with a double, home run and three RBIs, as Celina swept its series.
Celina, the state’s eighth-ranked team, will face Anna in the regional quarterfinals. Olivia Braddock added three hits and an RBI for Celina.
Softball Roundup: Celina sweeps series
HERALD DEMOCRAT
ALLEN -- Shelby Carter had three RBI and joined Taylor Norris with a home run and double as Celina rallied to defeat Princeton, 11-6, in Game 2 on Saturday to sweep a Class 3A Region II area-round series.
Olivia Braddock also doubled, had an RBI and matched Carter's and Norris' three hits for Celina (28-6-3), which faces district-mate Anna in a regional quarterfinal series later this week.
Katelyn Drummond pitched two innings of one-hit relief for the win for Celina, which overcame six errors in the first four innings with 10 runs over the final three.
On Friday, Lindsie Knowles scored on an infield throwing error, as Celina won the opener, 6-5, in eight innings.
Norris homered and equaled Braddock's two hits, while Carter added a hit with an RBI apiece. Knowles also doubled.
5/4/11
Softball: Long-awaited postseason finally here
BY ANDREW MAY, amay@acnpapers.com
Published: Wednesday, May 4, 2011 6:25 PM CDT
If ever a team was ready to begin the playoffs, it is Celina.
The Lady Cats have been in postseason form since district play began in March, have played three warm-up games, and have known who they were going to face for two weeks. If the No. 8 state ranking doesn’t intimidate Princeton, that should.
Celina is scary good even with little time to prepare for its opponent. That head coach Billy Coleman and his players are intimately familiar with the Lady Panthers makes them all the more dangerous.
“We’ve prepared all year long for this,” Coleman said. “The girls want it pretty bad. There’s no love lost between us and Princeton.”
Celina (27-5-3) enters the playoffs on the heels of a loss, but is still playing its best ball of the season. The Lady Cats were defeated by No. 2 Rusk, 3-2, Tuesday in Kemp in the official warm-up game for both district champions. But Coleman said his squad could have, and probably should have, won the game.
Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the seventh, Rusk rallied for three of its five hits and all three of its runs.
With two outs and two runners on, Rusk got a line drive that fell just outside of the reach of a diving Olivia Braddock in right-center field. The triple scored the final two runs in a rally that began with a leadoff extra-base hit.
In the top of that inning with two runners aboard, junior Lindsie Knowles drilled a liner to center that would have scored two more had it veered to the left or right a few feet. Instead, it dropped into the fielder’s glove, a break Celina didn’t get minutes later.
Knowles scored the game’s first run in the opening inning when she tagged from third on a fly out to left by Katelyn Drummond. Knowles reached on a single before advancing on a Shelby Carter double.
In the fourth, junior Claudia Cantu, playing in her first game in well over a month after being on the shelf with a knee injury, reached safely on a single to center field. She moved up on a fielder’s choice and was replaced by flex player Miranda West, who was plated on an Olivia Braddock RBI single up the middle.
As a team, Celina recorded seven hits, two more than the Lady Eagles. Rusk allowed only one run in district play.
“We dominated the entire game other than the half inning,” Coleman said. “They just got hot when it counted. Performance wise, we played awesome. We hit the ball extremely well. We went at them toe to toe.”
The Lady Cats hosted No. 18 Brownwood on Friday and made the 200-mile trip home a quiet one for the visitors. In the 1-0 win, Drummond provided the only scoring in the bottom of the eighth when she came home on a passed ball. Drummond, who also struck out six in the shutout, singled and moved to third on bunts by Kassidy Holmes and Taylor Norris to put herself in position to win it.
Coleman said the combination of playing Brownwood and Rusk was the perfect preparation for Princeton.
“We faced the right competition at the right time to get us ready for Princeton,” he said. “We’re exactly where I want us to be this time of year.”
The key to getting past Princeton, the runner-up out of District 11, will be continuing to play solid defense, Coleman said.
“Defense wins championships,” he said. “If we keep playing defense the way we are, I think we’re going to be alright. It keeps us in a lot of games.”
Fueled by a lefty-dominated lineup, the state-ranked Lady Panthers clobbered Fort Worth Polytechnic, 18-0 and 20-8, in a bi-district series last weekend.
“I thought it might even be worse than that,” Coleman said.
Not that the Lady Cats aren’t ready.
“We’ve been preparing for them for two weeks,” Coleman said. “It’s going to be a good series. I’d like to say we take care of business in two [games], but I don’t know. We know they’re good. Without a doubt, this is the toughest area-round opponent we’ve had.
“We’re looking forward to the challenge. We’ll let the girls go out on the field and take care of business. We’re going to come out and get after them.
4/30/11
No. 8, Celina 1, No. 18 Brownwood 0 (8)
CELINA -- Katelyn Drummond scored the only run on a passed ball in the eighth lifting Celina past Brownwood in a playoff warm-up on Friday.
Drummond singled and then moved to third on bunts by Kassidy Holmes and Taylor Norris for Celina (26-5-3). Drummond also struck out six to get the win.
Holmes matched Lindsie Knowles' two total hits and joined Janie Knowles in doubling for Celina, which plays Rusk at Kemp on Tuesday for another warm-up game.
4/27/11
Lady Cats shake off rare loss, prepare for playoffs
BY ANDREW MAY, amay@acnpapers.com
Published: Wednesday, April 27, 2011 7:17 PM CDT
As Billy Coleman sees it, the first loss in six weeks will be a good thing for the Celina softball team
The Lady Cats committed a multitude of uncommon errors and left a throng of runners stranded in a 7-3 setback to City View, the state’s seventh-ranked 2A team. It dropped Celina from the top spot in Class 3A to No. 8, which Coleman views as a positive.
The District 10-3A champs will enter the playoffs next week without as big of a target as they once had.
“It kind of takes that monkey off our back going into the playoffs,” Coleman said. “I’m glad we got the bad game out of the way. When you play that many games in a row, you’re bound to have one bad game. It happens to the guys that make millions of dollars.”
Facing City View ace Ciara Clampitt, an Arkansas signee, Celina loaded the bases on three different occasions yet failed to come away with a single run each time. The Lady Cats also committed four errors that allowed City View to produce the winning margin.
Coleman said the loss is already a distant memory.
“They’re not devastated or anything like that,” he said. “We just didn’t play well. It happens. It hasn’t affected them at all. It’s already over with.”
Celina (25-4-3) will get a bye in the first round of the playoffs before a likely showdown with Princeton in the area round. Princeton, No. 20 in 3A, will begin a best-of-three series against Fort Worth Polytechnic on Friday.
The Lady Cats, meanwhile, will tune-up against a pair of state-ranked opponents as they prepare for another postseason run. CHS will take on No. 18 Brownwood at home Friday before facing Rusk, the second-ranked 2A team in the state.
Coleman said he doesn’t know a whole lot about Brownwood, other than deducing that they must be a solid squad.
“I wouldn’t get on a bus and travel 3.5 hours if I don’t think I have a pretty good team,” he said. “Anyone wiling to travel that far must be good.”
Rusk, which went through district play unbeaten by allowing only one run, will be Celina’s official warm-up game Tuesday. The two schools will meet in Kemp for a 6 p.m. showdown.
Prior to the season, Coleman picked Rusk to advance to the state tournament out of Region III.
“They’ll be two games we could possibly lose, or if we step up to the challenge we’ll win,” he said. “Ever since I’ve been here, we won’t back down from competition.”
As for slipping seven spots due to a single loss, Coleman shrugged it off. He said not being No. 1 relieves some of the pressure his team might have faced.
“It doesn’t bother me at all to be honest,” he said. “We’ll prove where we should be ranked. If we’re No. 1 come June, then I’ll be the happiest man alive. Until then, it is what it is.”
Celina has done next to nothing in practice to prepare for either Brownwood or Rusk, instead focusing all of its attention on Princeton. The Lady Cats advanced to the regional final last season and qualified for state the year before. They again have their sights set on charging deep into the playoffs.
“The girls are ready,” Coleman said. “If we play like we’re capable of, there’s not a team in the state that can beat us.”
4/19/11
District 10-3A
No. 1 Celina 10, Bonham 9
BONHAM -- Taylor Norris homered to go 4-for-4 with four RBI but Celina needed a game-ending double play to hold off Bonham to clinch the outright district title.
Bonham also advanced to the playoffs as 10-3A's runner-up.
Lindsie Knowles and Olivia Braddock had three hits apiece for Celina (24-3-3, 8-0), which led 7-0 after the top of the fourth. Katelyn Drummond doubled, had a two-run single and struck out eight.
Julie Nguyen had three hits, doubling in a run for Bonham (21-9, 6-2), which scored nine runs over the last four innings. Layton Ford hit an RBI triple, while Cheyenne Wicker, Katelyn Bardwell, Audrey Richardson, Haley Walker and Carlee Garcia each had an RBI single. Arye Durst also doubled and had a one-out bases-loaded walk in the seventh to cut the deficit to 10-9.
4/12/11
HERALD DEMOCRAT
CELINA -- Paige Mongillo doubled, tripled and drove in three runs as Celina defeated Anna, 11-1, in five innings on Tuesday to clinch at least a share of the District 10-3A title.
Lindsie Knowles tripled, Shelby Carter doubled and each had two RBI for Celina (23-4-3, 7-0). Olivia Braddock also doubled and drove in one, while Katelyn Drummond struck out five.
Renee Erwin led off the game with a home run for one of two hits by Anna, which is 2-4 in district play and tied with Van Alstyne for third place.
4/6/11 - Sherman Democrat
No. 1 Celina 20, Commerce 0, (3)
COMMERCE -- Shelby Carter had five RBI, a home run and two of Celina's nine doubles during a run-rule win at Commerce.
Olivia Braddock tripled, doubled and drove in three for Celina (21-4-3, 5-0), while Miranda West doubled twice to go 3-for-4 with two RBI.
Lindsie Knowles also had two RBI and two hits for Celina, joining Taylor Norris, Alexis Elizondo and Kassidy Holmes with a double. Holmes also got the shutout win, allowing two hits.
4/6/11 - Plano Star
Softball team smears Bonham, Commerce
BY ANDREW MAY, amay@acnpapers.com
Published: Wednesday, April 6, 2011 9:19 PM CDT
In a game that saw the Celina softball team score 20 runs on 20 hits, it wasn’t an offensive statistic that left head coach Billy Coleman most elated.
The number Coleman was most pleased with following Tuesday’s crushing of Commerce was zero. That’s how many errors the Lady Cats had and how many runs Commerce scored.
“That goose egg on the board was the best thing without a doubt,” he said. “That was great.”
As has been the case throughout District 10-3A play, Coleman had plenty of figures to single out. Shelby Carter was 3-for-3 with two doubles, a home run and five RBIs. Olivia Braddock went 2-for-3 with a double, triple and three runs batted in. Miranda West saw two of her three hits go for extra bases, while Taylor Norris and Lindsie Knowles both got on twice with a double apiece as the Lady Cats scored 10 runs in each of the first two innings.
Celina (21-4-3, 5-0), the top-ranked 3A team in the state, now has 30 extra-base hits in just five district games. The Lady Cats are hitting .560 in league play, one of if not the highest figures in Coleman’s six-year tenure.
Kassidy Holmes relieved Katelyn Drummond by pitching a gem against Commerce, allowing no runs on two hits in the 20-0 lashing. Coleman said he is looking to get Holmes some innings on the mound during the regular season in case Celina finds itself in a playoff series down the line.
“We’re trying to get her ready,” he said. “Depending on what situation arises, she’ll maybe throw some (in the postseason). They complement each other well.”
Drummond was more than up to the task Friday in a 12-2 rout of Bonham. The first-place battle was dominated by Celina, which scored four runs in the third inning, four in the fifth and three more in the sixth to end things prematurely. Drummond scattered six hits for the victory, and helped her own cause by going 4-for-4 with a double.
The usual suspects took over from there. Carter was 2-for-3 with a triple and RBI, Norris was 3-for-4 with a triple, and Braddock doubled. West and Paige Mongillo each knocked two hits, and West matched Braddock with two RBIs.
Celina scorched Bonham (19-8, 4-1) for 17 hits, including five for extra bases. Coleman said the Purple Warriors were playing their outfielders along the fence in an effort to take away gap shots.
“We probably hit the ball harder than we’ve ever hit the ball all year,” Coleman said. “They played us on top of the fence.”
Celina has one of the larger parks in the area. The fence is 210 feet along the lines and 220 to center. On a normal-sized field, the Lady Cats would have hit eight homers, Coleman said.
“We have one of the biggest ballparks around,” he said. “They were literally standing at the fence. We wound up still managing 17 hits so that was good.”
The Lady Cats will face Van Alstyne on Friday and Anna on Tuesday with a chance to secure at least a share of the district title assuming Bonham continues to win. The race for third got much tighter Tuesday after Van Alstyne topped Anna, 5-0.
4/2/11
HERALD DEMOCRAT
CELINA -- Katelyn Drummond doubled, Taylor Norris tripled and the duo combined for seven hits as top-ranked Celina defeated Bonham, 12-2, in District 10-3A action on Friday in six innings to claim sole possession of first place.
Olivia Braddock, Paige Mongillo and Shelby Carter added two hits each for Celina (20-4-3, 4-0), which totaled 17. Braddock had two RBI, joining Mongillo with a double, and Carter tripled.
Drummond finished 4-for-4, matching Carter's RBI for Celina.
Julie Nguyen tripled to go 2-for-3 for Bonham (18-8, 3-1)
3/30/11 - Plano Star
Lady Cats annihilate Anna, 25-1
BY ANDREW MAY, amay@acnpapers.com
Published: Wednesday, March 30, 2011 3:17 PM CDT
If it wouldn’t have been an achy back, Anna pitcher Renee Erwin would have eventually been chased by Celina’s lineup.
Erwin, a West Texas A&M signee, never made it out of the first inning Friday against the Lady Cats. She was apparently pulled because of an injury, but it might have been to keep her ERA from skyrocketing to double digits. Erwin gave up eight runs out of the gate as Celina pounded the ball from every spot in the order.
Her replacement took it on the chin as well, struggling to locate the strike zone in a game that saw CHS crank out 16 hits in a 25-1 massacre. The state’s top-ranked 3A team is now 3-0 in District 10-3A play and 19-4-3 on the season.
“Once again it was good,” head coach Billy Coleman said. “We did a good job of hitting the ball. I thought Anna was going to be a tough team. They’ve got some good players.”
Good wasn’t good enough. Not by a long shot. Celina dominated from start to finish and was essentially gifted many of the 14 runs it scored in the fourth and final inning.
The pitcher who relieved Erwin plunked four batters and walked 11 more. The Lady Cat lineup made Anna pay.
Junior shortstop Shelby Carter smacked a grand slam in the fourth inning and was a triple away from the cycle. She joined junior Taylor Norris with three hits and four RBIs. Kassidy Holmes and senior Olivia Braddock also recorded extra-base hits. Braddock doubled twice to finish with five RBIs, while Claudia Cantu went 4-for-4 with three runs scored.
“They just struggled when [Erwin] went out,” Coleman said. “They didn’t really have anybody else behind her. We didn’t try to run it up on them; it wasn’t like that at all. You get to the varsity level and somebody can’t throw a strike and they hit you, you don’t really have a lot of control of that.”
Celina has now scored 54 runs in three district games, winning each one via run rule. Commerce, Van Alstyne and Anna combined to score a total of three runs.
Coleman said despite having yet to be tested in 10-3A, he is proud of his players for not overlooking any opponent.
“It doesn’t matter who we play, we’re going to go out and play every game exactly the same until the last out,” he said. “We expect everybody to give us a game. They’re coming out wanting to beat us and prove a point, but in the same token, the girls know that. We’re not going to go into any game taking anybody lightly.”
Celina will close out the first half of district play Friday against Bonham, which has come in at the tail end of the Texas Girls Coaches Association state rankings the past few weeks. Bonham is 17-7 on the year and beat Van Alstyne, 10-4, last Friday.
“Bonham I think will be a pretty good test for us. They’ve got some good kids,” Coleman said. “I expect that to be a good game.”
As for remaining atop the state standings, Coleman said it is a hollow honor. He wants to see his team in the same position two months from now.
“It’s really nice to be ranked No. 1 and have the notoriety, but to be honest, I don’t care if we’re ranked or not,” he said. “Whether we’re ranked No. 1 or not that’s totally irrelevant to me because a No. 1-ranked team can be beaten in bi-district and then what does the ranking mean? It means nothing.
“It’s great for the fans, but people know we’re good. They’re coming out to get us. They want to beat Celina in everything they play Celina in. The girls know that. If we go win a state championship and we’re ranked No. 1 at the end, that’s truly all I really care about.”
3/23/11 - Plano Star
Lady Cats blast Commerce, Van Alstyne
BY ANDREW MAY, amay@acnpapers.com
Published: Wednesday, March 23, 2011 7:35 PM CDT
Billy Coleman is a steadfast believer in defense. Few of his peers place as much of an emphasis on fielding as does Coleman. It’s why Celina is one of the best defensive teams in the state year in and year out.
This season is no different. While the Lady Cats have pounded opponents at the plate, they have again forged an identity built around defense. Even the smallest mental gaffe or throwing error is heavily frowned upon. When mistakes lead to runs, the level of discontent dramatically rises.
Coleman knows perfection isn’t attainable. But that’s always what Celina strives for, and even when the squad falls short, it usually isn’t by much.
The first two games of the district season Friday and Tuesday were cupcakes for the Lady Cats, who ran over Commerce (16-1) and Van Alstyne (13-1) as if they were road bumps. The two runs Celina gave up, though, could have been prevented. They may have only made a minor dent in the final score, but they still weren’t taken lightly.
“Both runs we gave up I don’t feel like we should have given them up,” Coleman said. “I take a lot of pride in our defense. Even if we score 80 [runs] I don’t want to give up a run unless they earn it.”
Coleman is forced to take a no-blunders-allowed approach because District 10-3A teams simply can’t hang with Celina. The Lady Cats could slack off and still win games by run-rule. The coach knows he has to keep his players sharp during this stretch so that they are peaking come playoff time. That isn’t always easy to do when games are out of hand in the first few innings.
A number of players produced at the plate as usual Tuesday against Van Alstyne. Junior Taylor Norris went 3-for-3, while Lindsie Knowles and Katelyn Drummond each recorded three RBIs. Knowles, Drummond, Miranda West, Shelby Carter, Paige Mongillo and Olivia Braddock all registered extra-base hits in the blowout.
“We’re hitting the ball well,” Coleman said. “Hitting is contagious. It definitely carries over for sure. One through nine they are all batting with a lot of confidence right now. That makes my job a lot easier.”
Against Commerce, Knowles, Mongillo and Claudia Cantu combined for nine hits and 10 RBIs in the three-inning romp. Each went 3-for-3 at the plate. Knowles drove in five runs, while Mongillo and Cantu combined for five more. Mongillo notched a pair of doubles to accompany a triple.
The Lady Cats turned around Saturday and faced 5A Southlake Carroll in a non-district meeting Coleman scheduled to keep his squad on point. Carter had five RBIs courtesy of a home run and double, while Drummond struck out four and allowed four hits in the 7-3 victory.
“We played pretty good,” Coleman said. “As much as I would like to play error free every game, there is not a team out there that does that. We’re definitely playing a lot better now than we were early on. Everyone knows what their role is.”
Celina, the No. 1 team in the state in Class 3A by the Texas Girls Coaches Association, will face Anna on Friday. The Lady Coyotes are coming off of an 8-6 win over Van Alstyne.
With just two games remaining in the first half of district play, the Lady Cats understand the importance of every game.
“It makes it a lot different that’s for sure. You don’t have a lot of room for err as far as coming back,” Coleman said. “If you start out bad, you dig yourself a pretty big hole. It’s good to get off to a pretty good start. It puts pressure on the other teams.
“What we did in preseason is irrelevant. Every district game is important and we play every district game like it’s our last. That’s how we approach everything.”
3/22/11 - Harold Democrat Sherman
District 10-3A
No. 1 Celina 13,
Van Alstyne 1, (5)
CELINA -- Taylor Norris had three hits and scored twice and Shelby Carter added two hits and two RBI as Celina run-ruled Van Alstyne in district play.
Katelyn Drummond and Lindsie Knowles had three RBI apiece, joining Miranda West with a double for Celina (18-4-3, 2-0). Paige Mongillo, Olivia Braddock and Carter also each tripled, while Claudia Cantu had two hits and an RBI.
Kelsea Bryant doubled for Van Alstyne, which dropped to 0-2 in 10-3A.
3/19/11 - Harold Democrat Sherman
CELINA -- Lindsie Knowles, Paige Mongillo and Claudia Cantu combined for 10 RBI and nine hits on Friday as top-ranked Celina defeated Commerce, 16-1, in three innings to open District 10-3A play.
Knowles had five RBI for Celina. Mongillo drove in three, doubled twice and tripled, while Cantu tripled and had two RBI. Each finished 3-for-3.
Katelyn Drummond struck out three, allowing two hits and no earned runs for Celina.
On Saturday, Shelby Carter homered, doubled and had five RBI as Celina defeated Class 5A-host Southlake Carroll, 7-3, in non-district play.
Cantu also had an double and an RBI for Celina (17-4-1, 1-0), which hosts Van Alstyne Tuesday to resume District 10-3A play. Drummond struck out four, allowing four hits and a walk.
Celina spoils Belton’s tournament hopes
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By Michael Heckman, Sentinel Sports Editor
MARCH 10, 2011 | SPORTS
Despite a good slide, Belton’s Lauren Ramsey (10) is called out at second base during the Lady Tigers’ 3-1 semi-finals game loss to the Celina Lady Cats. Celina advanced to the championship game, defeating Waco Midway, 16-8, to win the Tigers’ Hit ‘N’ Run tournament Saturday in Belton. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Sports Editor
Belton’s Kristi Moose (12) is tagged out at second base Saturday during the Hit ‘N’ Run tournament in Belton. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Sports Editor
Caught leaning too far toward second base, Belton’s Amber Peters (7) is run down and tagged out by Celina’s Shelby Carter (16) during Celina’s 3-1 semi-finals game win over the Lady Tigers Saturday in Belton. Michael Heckman, Sentinel Sports Editor
BELTON – Celina won a catfight here Saturday, using a three-run sixth inning to defeat the Lady Tigers, 3-1, spoiling Belton’s shot at winning its own Hit ‘N’ Run tournament.
Belton scored first, scoring in the third inning on three singles hit by Annie Bridgers, Alex Wilson and Kristi Moose.
But the Celina Lady Cats burned Belton pitcher Allison Boston In the top of the sixth inning. After Lindsay Knowles drew a walk, Shelby Carter laid down a perfect bunt. Then, Katelyn Drummond bunted safely, deftly placing the ball midway between Boston and her catcher, Alyson Bishoff.
With the bases loaded, Paige Mongillo smashed a line drive over the third baseman’s head. As the ball rolled into left field, two runs scored, giving Celina a 2-1 lead.
But the Lady Tigers weren’t done yet. Lauren Ramsey led off the bottom of the inning with a single on a fly ball hit into right-center field.
Amber Peters pasted a bunt down the first-base line. As the infield scrambled to cover the bunt, Meredith Langford, at first base on a fielder’s choice, ran to third base, where she narrowly dove under a throw to third baseman Miranda West.
In the seventh inning, Celina added an insurance run when Claudia Cantu hit a single into left-center field, driving home Knowles, who led off the inning with a triple on a fly ball hit to the right-center field fence.
Belton got a last chance to score in the seventh inning. But with two outs and two runners on base, Ramsey grounded out to first base.
“I thought Boston pitched well enough to win,” said Lady Tigers coach Matt Blackburn. “But leaving 12 runners on base is a real problem. We’ve left 37 on in the last four games,” he added.
Celina won the weekend tournament, beating Waco Midway, 16-8, late Saturday afternoon.
2/10/11 - Dallas News
Looks like our Ladycats are a “team to watch”. J