Katy has been led by its pitching staff all year.

The Tigers have been dominant on the mound and in their first three district games, Katy hadn’t given up a single run.

It’s a unit that the team can count on night in and night out, and even on Thursday when the Tigers allowed their first runs of district, others stepped up as Katy’s bats led the Tigers to a 12-3 victory over Morton Ranch.

“Our only struggle this year has been the offense,” said senior outfielder AJ Atkinson. The pitching has been unbelievable and the defense has been there so really in practice it’s been a focus on just hitting and getting our confidence u at the plate. You can see how it’s worked out and if we keep hitting like we did today we can make a deep run this year.”

Atkinson was a huge part of that offensive surge on Thursday, the senior had two hits, one a home run and one a double and drove in three runs in the early innings as Katy built a big lead and held on against the Mavericks.

Katy had the bats rolling early and got its first run in the bottom of the first on a passed ball before Atkinson came to the plate and delivered a two-run home run. Jeremy Mazariegos and Carlos Morales both hit RBI singles and Katy scored another on a passed ball, leading 6-0 after the first inning.

“Our offense gets a whole lot longer when AJ is seeing the ball like that and hitting like he can,” said Katy head coach Wes Hearne. “Seeing him smile out there and just finally breathe a little bit was nice. If we can get him going and everyone continues to hit the way they can this will be a really fun group.”

Katy’s pitching got into a little bit of trouble in the second inning as Morton Ranch loaded the bases, but Arvey Huerta came in and kept the Mavericks off the scoresheet, getting Katy out of the inning with its lead intact.

Atkinson added to the Tigers lead in the bottom of the inning with an RBI double and the Tigers kept going, getting runs on two bases loaded hit by pitches and a single from Morales that brought in two runs. Huerta had a very good ay in relief, pitching 1.2 innings and allowing no earned runs on two hits while striking out three. It’s something that Huerta has done all year in becoming a reliable option out of the bullpen whenever Katy needs him.

“He’s turned into a guy we can trust in any situation,” Hearne said. “He came in bases loaded no one out in a tournament and didn’t give up anything. That showed us that he can pitch in any situation. It’s been really nice knowing we can trust him no matter when he’s thrown in, he Arvey just makes our staff even deeper.”

Morton Ranch scored three runs in the game and two came in the third inning on a sacrifice grounder and a single from Zane Heiliger, adding a third in the fifth inning on a passed ball. Katy’s final run came in the sixth inning on an error. Aiden Barrientes came on in relief after the third inning and had a good first game back from injury, only allowing one run and striking out six in three innings of relief before Aaron Brashear closed things out with three strikeouts in the top of the seventh.

“This whole staff just has the same energy and we all want to throw hard and throw strikes,” Barrientes said. “If someone doesn’t have their best day, we pitch them up and we have each other’s backs. One of us is going to get the job done and so we don’t have to put too much pressure on ourselves.”

Katy will try to keep things going against Mayde Creek as they are one of four teams yet to lose in district so far. And if the offense can keep improving, things are looking bright for the Tigers.

“We’ve been practicing really well, and I think that’s the key is to keep that up and we’ll keep improving,” Atkinson said. “We have to have confidence and keep swinging the bats. Our pitching will always be there, we just have to keep getting better at the plate and not underestimate anyone because this is such a good district.”

District 19-6A

Katy 12, Morton Ranch 13

MR: 002 010 0 – 3 6 2

Katy: 650 001 x – 12 9 2

W: Cade Nelson. L: Leo Banuelos. Highlights: (MR) Zane Heiliger, 2-4, 1 RBI; Isaac Cantu, 1-2, 1 RBI, 1 BB. (K) Aiden Barrientes, 3 IP, 2 H, 1 R, 6 SO, 3 BB; AJ Atkinson, 2-2, 3 RBIs, 2 R, 1 HR, 1 2B; Connor Morales, 2-3, 3 RBIs; Jeremy Mazariegos, 2-3, 2 RBIs, 1 2B. Records: Taylor, 11-6-1, 3-0; Seven Lakes, 8-7-2, 0-1;