Cinco Ranch was out to take care of business on Saturday.

The Cougars had already locked up a playoff spot, but their game against Mayde Creek was still an important one, and the Cougars were not about to go lightly on a team they knew was fighting for their lives.

The Cougars put together a complete performance and came out 4-2 winners on the day, clinching the second seed out of District 19-6A and the Cougars highest district finish since 2014.

“We hadn’t placed as high as second in almost a decade, so this was super important,” said Cinco Ranch head coach Suzanne Reeve. “This was a big deal. I told the girls before the game, ‘let’s go out there and clinch second for us and make sure we don’t have to play an extra game for it.’ They’ve been working really hard so to get this win and see that pay off for them felt really good.”

It was a do or die game for Mayde Creek and the Rams gave it everything they had trying to create a tie for fourth place in district. It was Cinco that struck first, Savannah Henningson drove in a run on an RBI double in the first inning, but Mayde Creek answered back in the second when Alyssa Gonzalez hit an RBI single to tie the game.

Chela Kovar made it 3-1 in the third inning when she drove in two on a single, but Mayde Creek answered back as Julissa Aquino drove in a brought home a runner when Julissa Aquino hit an RBI single. But another run in the fourth from a Faith Piper sacrifice fly was too much for the Ras to overcome.

“Mayde Creek is a really good team,” Kovar said. “going up against that level of competition to close out district just helps up because it exactly what we’ll be going against next week. It was a good game and I think it really got us ready for playoffs, especially because we played two games in two days just like we’ll have to do the rest of the way.”

Kovar had a very strong day on the mound, striking out seven and walking two while allowing just one earned run on seven hits. Gonzalez was also strong for Mayde Creek, going the complete game and allowing four runs on six hits while striking out three and walking four.

“This gave us a really good starting point heading into next week,” Reeve said. “We played well and strung hits together like we needed and it was a really good effort from everyone.”

The Cougars now will get ready for their playoff push, and the Cougars are confident after winning their last two and getting a draw with the third seed out of District 20-6A.

“We have a lot of practice to do and we just have to make sure we’re ready,” Kovar said. “Our hitting and pitching has to keep getting better, we have to work on getting ahead in counts and we just have to make sure we’re locked in for next week.”