Four-run fourth lifts Wylie over Cooper for 2-0 district start against Abilene teams
The Wylie softball team opened District 4-5A play against two familiar foes in Abilene High and Cooper – something that never had been done before until this season.
Well, at least not as league rivals.
This is AHS’ first season in the UIL’s second-largest class after always being in the largest. Wylie didn’t make the jump to Class 5A until the 2018 season. Now, all three of Abilene's big schools − AHS, Cooper and Wylie − are in the same district.
So, the stakes for the three teams when they play each other are pretty high. And Wylie is off to a good start, beating Cooper 7-4 on Thursday, after opening district with a 6-4 win over AHS on March 7.
“I think it’s hard, when you play familiar people,” Wylie coach Heather Collier said. “You play with them and you are friends with them. I could tell at one point, you know, you’ve got a pitcher on the mound throwing to one of her really good friends. It’s hard to keep a straight face.
"So, I was just glad we held our composure and did what we need to do against two crosstown district opponents.”
Wylie got the job done Thursday thanks to a four-run fourth inning to snap to a 3-3 tie at the Wylie softball field. All four runs came with two outs.
“Hopefully, we go up there with confidence and glad we’re the one in the box that gets to battle for our team,” Collier said. “I was just glad we came up with some big hits when we needed to.”
Timely hitting sparks Wylie
Wylie scratched out runs in the first and second to lead 2-0. Jadyn Fernandez got it started with a two-out, RBI single in the first inning. Rylee Moore, who had walked with one out, scored on the hit.
Kat Martinez doubled and scored on Mycala Reed’s two-out single in the second inning.
Cooper answered with a three-run third inning. Emma Ruiz led off with a single, and Jahlissah Marquez followed with a double. Jazlyn Hatcher walked, loading the bases. Ruiz scored on Chyann Sutton’s ground out to second, and Marquez scored on Maddie Fry’s ground out to short. Hatcher broke the tie, scoring on a two-out error when the throw back to the pitcher after a pitcher rolled into center field.
“The girls came out focused. They came out strong,” Cooper coach Stacey Herring said about the three-run third. “We were right where we needed to be in the lineup.”
Wylie rallied to tie the game with another big, two-out hit. This time it was Reese Farrar who came with a two-out, RBI single.
The Lady Bulldogs broke the game open with a four-run fourth. Martinez led off with a single and took second on Halli Russell’s sacrifice bunt.
It appeared Marquez, Cooper’s starting pitcher, might get out of the inning unscathed when she coaxed Reed to hit a foul pop to the first baseman for the second out.
However, after Martinez stole third and Moore walked, Hanna Hood hit an RBI single. Fernandez doubled in two more runs, and Cameron Gregory capped the inning with an RBI single.
Cooper got a run back in the fifth on Cece Coleman’s pinch-hit, RBI single with two outs. Asjha Cherry had singled with one out and taken third on Ashlynn French’s double. She scored on Coleman’s hit, but Moore struck out Ruiz to leave two runners stranded.
“It all came down to that one inning,” Herring said. “We held our own. We were hitting today. We never gave up. Pitchers played well today. It’s just that after we got the two outs (in the fourth), it’s almost like we let up and we didn’t focus on getting that third out.”
Moore wins in relief
Moore got the win in relief of Russell. She allowed a run on five hits in four innings. Moore struck out four and walked none. Russell, Wylie’s starter, gave up three runs on three hits. She struck out two and walked two.
Collier was pleased with her two pitchers, especially considering it was a blustery day primed for the long ball. Yet neither team hit a homer.
“One mistake by a pitcher could be game-changing,” Collier said. “… I thought Halli and Rylee did all that they could on the mound just to try to keep their hitters off balance.”
Marquez took the loss, surrendering seven runs on eight hits. She struck out three and walked four in four innings. Fry pitched two scoreless innings in relief, giving up two hits and striking out one.
Lady Coogs seek consistency
Cooper (5-4, 1-2) was coming off an 8-1 loss to Abilene High on Tuesday at Cougar Diamond.
The Lady Coogs struggled with six errors in that game and couldn’t come up with timely hits – leaving seven runners stranded, five in scoring position.
“I made changes in the lineup, trying to see if we could mix some stuff up,” Herring said. “Catcher’s been a little sick lately, so I put somebody in to bat for her. She (Gabby De Leon) was actually at the hospital yesterday. So, I’m just thankful she got to play today. We tried to change it up to make it where we were competitive, and it seemed to work.”
Cooper, which plays Wolfforth Frenship at 2 p.m. Saturday in a non-district game at Cougar Diamond, opened league play with an 8-6 win over Lubbock-Cooper on March 7 in Woodrow.
Herring still is seeking consistency from her team.
“I see ups and downs,” she said. “Sometimes we come out focused and we’re ready to play, and other times it’s like, ‘Who are these people and what happened to my team?’”
Wylie (16-4, 2-0) battles Lubbock Monterey (18-3-1, 3-0) at 1 p.m. Saturday in Lubbock in an early battle for the district lead.
Collier is grateful to get victories over AHS and Cooper to start league play.
“It doesn’t get easier from here, but I’m very proud of our tough start and we’re standing 2-0 right now,” Collier said.
DISTRICT 4-5A
Wylie 7, Cooper 4
Cooper … 003 … 001 … 0 – 4 … 8 … 1
Wylie … 111 … 400 … x – 7 … 11 … 1
Halli Russell, Rylee Moore (4) and Cameron Gregory. Jahlissah Marquez, Maddie Fry (5) and Gabby De Leon. W – Moore. L – Marquez. 3B – Cooper: Nadia Garcia, Chyann Sutton. 2B – Cooper: Marquez, Ashlynn French; Wylie: Jadyn Fernandez, Kat Martinez.
Records – Cooper 5-4, 1-2; Wylie 16-4, 2-0.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Wylie overcomes Abilene Cooper in District 4-5A softball action
