Feb 04, 2012
Lady Oilers advance to the 5A Region III finals
May 24, 2010
PEARLAND — When the 2010 softball playoffs began, despite being the defending Class 5A Region III champions and having lost a heartbreaker 1-0 in the state softball finals last season, the Pearland Lady Oilers were pretty much ignored to be a real threat to repeat as region champions and making a return trip to the state tournament.
The pre-playoff teams mentioned as strong favorites were Elkins, Clements, Bellaire, and Katy with Cinco Ranch and Clear Brook as the sleepers.
Pearland didn't even get any respect as a dark horse.
Doesn't really matter because the outcome all happens on the field and not some newspaper sports page.
Well - guess what? All of the teams above have checked in their uniforms because their 2010 season is over. And the Lady O's eliminated Clements and Katy while getting some help to see Elkins, Bellaire, and Cinco Ranch knocked out. Clear Brook wasn't even a factor.
Now the season is down to two teams who will enter the Class 5A Region III finals. Pearland and Katy Taylor, who knocked off favored Elkins in the semifinals, will battle for the right to advance to the state softball tournament in Austin. The Lady Oilers are back to defend their title and to make another run to the state championship.
The region finals will begin on Thursday, May 27 at Dawson HS at 7:30 p.m. for Game 1.
Game 2 will be on Friday, May 28 at Katy Lakes HS at 7:30 p.m. Game 3 (if necessary) will be on Saturday, May 29 at Katy Lakes HS at 7:30 p.m.
"We have focused on playing one team at a time and to take care of our own business and not worry about what anyone thinks we might do or not do," head coach Laneigh Clark said.
Pearland is 6-0 in the post-season and needs to win the best-of-three series against Katy Taylor to repeat as region champions.
Katy Taylor was also not considered in the region title game after finishing third in their district during the regular season. But the Lady Mustangs swept Elkins in their semifinal round to advance for the right to go to state.
Pearland faced a tough Katy team who was an early season favorite to win the region. But the Lady Oilers knocked off the Lady Tigers in the first game of their best-of-three series 4-2 in Katy.
That brought the second game to Pearland in front of a packed out home crowd in full support of the Lady O's.
"It is always good to play at home, especially in such an important playoff game," Clark said. "There was a lot of energy at the start of the game and I could see my girls were focused and ready to go."
Pearland got on the scoreboard first when Jaclyn Bechtle opened the bottom of the second with a double to left field fence. Haley Beam sacrificed Bachtle to third and Jessica Bowden, who was in the pitching circle, helped her own cause with a slicing single through the left side to plate Bechtle for a 1-0 lead.
But Katy wasn't going down easy and the Lady Tigers scored three runs in the top of the third on two hits for a 3-1 lead.
But the Lady O's came back in the bottom of the third to close the gap when Leandra Maly reached base on a one-out error, stole second and scored on a single by Brook DuBois to cut the lead to 3-2.
After Bowden put Katy down in order in the top of the fourth, Pearland broke the game open in the bottom of the fourth with four runs for a 6-3 advantage.
Bowen collected her second hit of the game with a single, moved to second on an error by the second baseman and stole third. Chelsea Bennet reached base on a fielder's choice and stole second. With two outs, Megan Coronado, who has had some clutch hits during the playoffs, stroked a single down the left field line to score two runs. An infield single by Maly put runners at second and third. Lauren Langner got a single and Coronado and Maly scored for a 6-3 lead.
Katy added one more run in the top of the fifth, but Bowden retired the next six batters in the final two frames to get the 6-4 win and send the Lady O's to their second straight Region III final.
Coronado, who was an All-State first-team pick last year by the Texas Sports Writers Association, was 3-for-4, had two RBIs, and scored one run. Maly scored two runs while Langner plated two runs. Dubois had one RBI, while Bechtle had one hit and scored a run.
Bowden was 2-for-3 with one RBI and one run scored while picking up the win on the mound. The junior All-Stater allowed eight hits and four runs while striking out three and walking three against a tough hitting Katy squad.
Bennett scored a run as well.
Now it is time to for the 5A Region III finals against Katy Taylor beginning on Thursday, May 27 at Dawson HS at 7:30 p.m. Pearland fans need to show up in full force.
There will be a Pep Rally at the Pearland HS south campus on Wednesday at 7:00 p.m.