Lady Broncos begin softball season

By Sandy Anderberg

The Lady Broncos began their 2016 season in a big way as they participated in a 14-team tournament held in Fritch and Stinnett last week.

The ladies took on Perryton in the first round and defeated them 6-5 in a close game.

“It was a close game, but we were able to hang on and win,” said head coach Gary Jack. The Lady Broncos then defeated a good Childress team 9-1 in the second round. “We really played well,” he said.

Since the ladies won the first two games, they did not play until Saturday morning when they took on Memphis.

“Memphis is new to softball,” Jack said. “But I told the girls they would be decent. We were able to survive that game and won, 8-7.”

The Lady Broncos went up against River Road, who eventually became the tournament champions, and were defeated 4-6.

“Our girls really came out and played and it was a close game,” Jack said. “Briana Butler hit a home run for us.”

After the loss to River Road, the Lady Broncos had to turn right around and take on Fritch for third place. Jack felt they did not play as well as they should have, but also felt a break would have benefited them.

“We sure needed a break before that last game,” he said. “We could have finished third, but it didn’t work out in our favor.”

Jack noted that the girls did a good job pitching and also did well behind the plate.

“We saw some good signs,” Jack said. “Our pitchers did a good job and our catchers did as well. We seemed to hit the ball pretty well against Perryton and Childress. We got a lot of playing time. That will help us get ready for our district game on Saturday against West Texas High.”

The Lady Broncos will play against West Texas High at home on Saturday, March 5, beginning at 1:00 p.m.