Friday, May. 09, 2008

Just in there

Northwest softball scrapes past Arlington, takes on Coppell

By John English

Contributing Writer

While the Northwest softball team did advance to the regional quarterfinals with last Friday’s victory against Arlington, the win did not come easy, as the Colts proved to be a much tougher foe than Creekview.

The Texans actually trailed by two in the final inning, but a five-run rally gave Northwest an 8-5 lead, and that was all it took.

"I think once we relaxed and had fun, our bats came alive, and we started getting hits," coach Tanya Morrow said. "We were getting hits early, but we weren’t stringing them together. We were leaving a lot of girls stranded on base in the early innings."

Morrow said that even when the Texans were down in the final inning, she was not really concerned about her team’s predicament.

"We looked at it as though we’re not going to give up hope until the game is over," Morrow said. "When it’s the seventh inning, and we have no more outs, then we’ll be worried about losing the game. As long as there are outs, we have hope … the girls just never quit."

Morrow said having to come from behind against Arlington was very important for her team at this stage in the playoffs.

"I think it’s crucial," Morrow said. "It just reinforced what our girls have talked about all along, which is, 'There’s no lid on our jar; there is no limit to what we can do,’ and it just kind of put their words into action by how they came back and won."

Freshman Lauren Bixler went 4 for 5 in the game against the Colts, and Morrow said she had a great all-around effort.

"She got on base every time but once, and the one time she did not get on, she had an RBI and scored a runner for us," Morrow said. "She had a big game offensively. AJ Deal and Christin Robertson also had great games; they hit probably two of the hardest shots I have ever seen. They both tripled for us."

Northwest is in the midst of a three-game series with Coppell, the team the Texans knocked out in the opening round of the playoffs last season, and Morrow said the Cowgirls should be a good opponent.

"They were young last year," Morrow said. "Obviously, they have gotten more mature and are playing good ball right now, so, we’re looking forward to playing them."

Northwest plays at 2 p.m. today against Coppell at Birdville High School in the second game of the series.

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