“That’s the odd part about it is that we gave up one hit but sometimes that’s all it takes. We had our opportunities, we had shots to get a run back and had the right people up at the right time, but it just wasn’t meant to be.”
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Sometimes one hit can make all the difference in the game.
Sometimes that one hit can be the difference between a win and a loss or the difference between a season coming to an end or advancing and staying alive.
Katy was on the unfortunate side of that difference on Thursday, as the Tigers gave up only one hit and allowed just two base runners in their area round one-game playoff against Bellaire, but fell to the Cardinals 1-0 to end the Tigers season.
“That’s the odd part about it is that we gave up one hit but sometimes that’s all it takes,” said Katy head coach Kalum Haack. “But we had our opportunities, we had shots to get a run back and had the right people up at the right time, but it just wasn’t meant to be tonight.”
The only run scored in the entire game came in the top of the first inning, when Claire Shelley took a 2-2 pitch and hit it over the center field wall for a home run.
Katy got runners on in the bottom of the first but failed to move them over as they weren’t able to answer back in the bottom of the inning. That would be something that plagued the Tigers all night, as Katy had a runner reach with no outs in the second but again failed to move the runner over as two players bunted into pop outs, with another pop bunt happening in the third inning where the Tigers left a runner stranded.
“We didn’t make great adjustments tonight, and their pitcher did a really good job of making the pitches she needed to,” Haack said. “She had good movement, but when we got people on we just couldn’t move them over. We really struggled moving runners and that was kind of a shock because we worked on that a lot this week.”
Katy stranded another runner in the fourth and loaded the bases in the fifth but were unable to get a run across. Katy’s biggest chance came in the seventh, when they put runners on first and second with two outs. Cameryn Harrison then hit a line drive single that looked like it would bring in the tying run, but Katy had a runner tagged out at third before the other runner crossed home plate, ending the inning and the game as the Tigers came inches away from tying things.
The Tigers will graduate four seniors this year, and while not all of them started, their leadership and presence in the dugout will be missed by the team.
“They were our leaders,” Haack said. “They always stepped up, whenever someone needed anything, they were there to point them in the right direction. They did a really good job, they were great for us and they’re going to be missed.”
Katy though will bring back a wealth of experience and talent next year. They will look to build on this season and make another playoff run next year. And this loss will not be off the groups mind quickly.
“The biggest thing is that they take this, and they respond from it,” Haack said. “This season we didn’t learn the message of stepping up and being ready to compete from the first pitch. But I know that they’ll bounce back from this, it’s going to bother them and it’s going to bother me until February of next year. It’s up to us to go out there and do something about it.”