Tigers, Tigerettes compete in tournaments

Tigerettes

By Joshua Bray

Slatonite Intern

The Tigerettes started the Brownfield/Seminole tournament Thursday (March 5) playing Fort Stockton, losing the game with a final score of 8-6. Alexis Rubio pitched. KK McCord had a double and a homerun. Madi Englund had two doubles.

Later that evening, the Tigerettes played Muleshoe and won with a final score of 15-0. Kaylee Franklin pitched and hit a homerun. Sam Gatica was 3-for-3. Gatica and Englund both had a double, scored two runs and two RBIs. Amaya Flores scored three times and had a double.

The Tigerettes played River Road and won with a final score of 15-5 on Friday (March 6). Rubio was pitching. Kamryn Gibbs had a triple, a homerun, scored three runs and four RBIs. Englund had a triple. Amaya Flores had a double.

The next game for the Tigerettes was against Midland Greenwood on Saturday (March 7), where they won 13-2. Rubio pitched, Zanady Coronado had a triple, Gibbs had a homerun and Kinzie Boreing was 3-for-3 with three RBIs and two runs scored.

The Tigerettes then closed the tourney by ending their three game win streak with a shutout loss to Lovington with a final of 3-0. Franklin pitched again and Englund was 2-for-3 in the game.

Coach Brandon Langston said that with certain players missing from the field on Thursday, others stepped up and played well, giving the team more than a fighting chance.“Erica Brooks played three different positions and seemed to always make the routine plays and got on base,” Langston said. “Nana Anzley has had to play a bit for us this year and has done a good job as well. KK McCord is coming around with her bat as well as Alexis Rubio, she probably had the two hardest hit balls on Thursday against Fort Stockton and both were right at someone for an out.”

Langston said the Tigerettes haven’t been at full strength recently but said he was pleased with how the team has been playing. Langston attributes their depth and defense as part of the reason for their success.  “We did some really good things defensively,” Langston said. “We had two varsity girls out this past weekend and hopefully will get them back this week. It is really nice to have the depth that we have to be able to overcome having some girls out and still being able to go out and compete at a high level.” 

Langston noted quite a few players who had great performances and made their presence known at the tourney.

“I thought Erica Brooks played well, having the injuries and girls gone she played more then normal and played really consistent for us,” Langston said.

“Amaya Flores had a really good tournament as well, she seemed to always be on base and getting base hits.  KK McCord got her bat going this weekend, as well as Kinzie Boreing. More and more of our girls are starting to hit the ball well and our lineup can be pretty scary when everyone is clicking.  Kinzie also moved around and had to play second base, which I don’t think she’s ever played before, and did a really good job against Lovington there. Our pitching is getting into shape. Kaylee Franklin pitched well against a really good Lovington team to finish out the tournament on Saturday.”

Langston said that the team’s biggest strengths are their experience and depth, which helped them succeed in the tournament.  “We have 11 returning varsity players as well as four girls who travelled in the playoffs with us last year and have seen the excitement of that and also what it takes to get to that point,” he said. “Our girls expect to win when they step on the field and never really feel like they are out of it. Our depth is huge as well. We have a lot of girls who can play and a lot of girls that are playing JV that can step in and contribute to the Varsity.”

Langston spoke about the mindset of this Tigerettes softball team, and how the past few years of success has brought strong momentum to this year’s team. “The last couple of years teams have raised the bar for us,” Langston said. “These girls expect to make a run in the playoffs and hopefully we can stay healthy and have the ball bounce our way a couple times.”

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Tigers

By Joshua Bray

Slatonite Intern

The Slaton Tigers baseball team went 2-2 over the weekend. Despite their losses, Coach Dilon Chancellor said the Tigers gave themselves a chance to win in every game but attributed the two loses to mental errors that cost them the games.

“The kids scrapped,” Chancellor said. “We did some good things. We battle back and walked Perryton off in the bottom of the seventh after being down by three runs going into the inning. That’s the kind of scrap I’m talking about, never giving up.”

The Tigers ended up dropping the second game to Lamesa. After having a four-run lead going into the last inning and Lamesa ended up walking the Tigers off.

“We made too many errors behind the pitchers but also fell behind in counts which can’t happen and expect to win baseball games,” Chancellor said.

Friday the Tigers played Dalhart and 10 run ruled them in the fifth. Chancellor said the team played exceptionally well. The Tigers ended the tournament against Midland Greenwood.

“Overall (it was a) good weekend,” Chancellor said. “Though four games in two days is tough but that’s why I put the kids in this situation because when you get into the playoffs, you might have to play a double header in a three-game series. We played two double headers back to back days. That’s a lot of baseball.”

Chancellor said that the coaching staff and himself are happy with the leadership shown, and how the team had been responding over the weekend. Chancellor said that the learning experience of playing four games in two days will be invaluable for the team.

“The biggest thing is we got to compete,” Chancellor said. “Anytime we get to compete is a good day.”

Chancellor said players Ty Kinch and Matt Vigil had notable performances over the weekend.

“Ty Kinch has done a great job,” Chancellor said. “He is our leadoff. He has found a way to get on base and give us a chance to produce runs early. He has played solid defense behind pitchers and continue do his job being a senior leader.

“Matt Vigil is leading the team in hits coming off a weekend having a combined five hits in three games,” Chancellor said. “He is doing a great job at the plate and on the mound for us. He threw a Gem against Dalhart allowing one hit, nine (strikes), one walk in an 11-0 win.”

Chancellor said Coach Jace Chancellor has helped instill a “bulldog mentality” into Vigil and said that when Vigil attacks the zone and maintains great body language, he is tough to beat for any team.

Chancellor said that he was proud of the mental toughness the team showed over the weekend and believes that it played a huge role in their successes.

“They could have easily shut it down,” Chancellor said. “But that’s not who we are that’s not who they want to be. It’s about being consistent and bringing that mentality every single game, not just when you want to.”