Taylor came into Friday with everything on the line.

A win, and the Mustangs stay in the race for the final playoff spot in District 19-6A, a loss and their playoff hopes would be dashed with a game to go in the regular season.

To add to the things, the Mustangs had to face the perennial powerhouse in the district Katy. The Tigers had only lost one district game since 2014 and came into the matchup trying to inch closer to an undefeated district title.

But the Mustangs were unphased, it didn’t matter who they were facing, what they were up against or the odds, all that mattered to them was finding a way to win.

That’s exactly what they did, as Taylor downed the Tigers 1-0, handing Katy it’s first district loss of the season and staying alive in the playoff race with one day remaining in the regular season.

“It felt great, and the biggest thing was we came out and we didn’t feel like we were beat already,” said senior pitcher Ari Hughes. “That’s been our biggest achilles heel, we’ll come out like we’re already defeated, but we’ve been a lot better with that and we believed today. It just felt great to come out and show what we have and show we can beat anyone, even a team has been on top of our district for so long.”

It had been 12 years since Taylor’s last win over Katy, going back to 2011. It was Hughes that led the way for the Mustangs to the win, as she pitched a complete game shutout, striking out three and walking one while allowing six hits to earn the win.

“She’s been like that all year for us,” said Taylor head coach Thomas Powell. “With Ari, she just doesn’t lack any confidence her and it doesn’t bother her when she makes a mistake. She walked a batter to start the seventh, but she came right back and got us the win. Between the ears, she’s just one of the best I have had in a long time.”

It was a game of inches between the teams and the only thing that separated the two at the end day was two errors from Katy that allowed Taylor to take advantage.

Tessa Woods reached in the third inning on an error and another error allowed Woods to get all the way to third base, Bethany Fan then hit a sacrifice fly to give the Mustangs the lead.

And that was all they would need. Katy threatened in both the sixth and seventh innings, getting runners in scoring position in both innings. But Taylor held strong to get the win.

“Honestly, it takes the whole team and you could see today from the first player to the last player we we’re all in it together. That’s what it takes and we just have to keep going with that same mentality.”

Taylor faces off against Tompkins on Saturday and again must win to keep their postseason hopes alive, or with a loss would need both Mayde Creek and Seven Lakes to lose, as the three teams are tied for fourth place in district.

“They should enjoy this tonight for a little bit, this was big,” Powell said. “But when they’re getting ready for bed and everything they have to flip that switch and start thinking about Tompkins, because that’s a really good team. We haven’t done anything to make them feel scared of us yet. But we can still do that tomorrow. As long as we continue to pitch well, play good defense and keep it close, we can give ourselves a chance. We just have to stay in it and come ready.”