Lady Comanches meeting season's expectations
Slow start has developed into push for state berth
Thursday, May 24, 2007
Coy Slavik - Victoria Advocate Sports Editor
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SHINER - Brandon Siegel had seen enough.
The Shiner Lady Comanches softball coach had watched his team just go
through the motions during the first two weeks of the season and he
couldn't take it anymore.
The Lady Comanches entered the season with high hopes after returning
all 10 starters from last year's team that reached the Class 1A state
tournament semifinals. But Siegel knew something had to change in early
March after he watched his team get shut out in consecutive losses to
Hallettsville and St. Joseph and win only two games during a six-game
stretch.
"I think the girls expected to win without really having to work for
it," Siegel said. "But they opened their eyes and realized they still
had to work to achieve their goal."
Shiner (20-6-1) can get one step closer to its goal of a state title
today when it faces D'Hanis (16-8) in a Class 1A regional final playoff
game at 7 p.m. at the Converse Judson softball complex. The winner will
advance to next week's state tournament in Austin.
After a 4-0 loss to St. Joseph on March 6, the Lady Comanches found
themselves with a 6-3-1 record and hardly looking like the team that
reached the state tournament a year ago.
"We went so far last year that we thought everything was going to just
be handed to us," said sophomore pitcher Heather Haas, who will take a
19-6 record into today's game.
"We assumed we didn't have to work for anything," sophomore outfielder
Paige Michalec said.
But the usually taciturn Siegel put that assumption to rest.
"He got pretty upset with us," Michalec said. "He's usually pretty
patient with us, but it's not good when he does get ?upset. He wouldn't
even talk to us."
But what Siegel did say to his team stuck to the players.
"He told us one thing I'll never forget," Michalec said. "He told us
"Don't play not to lose, but play to win.' "
Siegel also informed the Lady Comanches that they would always get the
best out of their opponents after making it to the state tournament last
season.
"Once they saw they had the bull's-eye on their back and everybody was
gunning for them, they realized they had to put their minds to it, make
the plays when they had to and execute all the way around," Siegel said.
Shiner responded by winning 14 of its next 17 games. The Lady Comanches
are 4-0 in the playoffs and coming off a convincing 19-0 rout of Falls
City in the regional semifinals.
"We don't go in thinking any game is easy anymore," senior catcher Maci
Schaefer said.
Schaefer is the lone senior on the team and feels the Lady Comanches are
primed for another trip to the state tournament.
"That's our biggest motivation," Schaefer said. "Especially as a senior,
I want to get back there and win it all. We're definitely peaking, but I
think there are still better things to come."
Siegel said the Lady Comanches will have to be on top of their game
defensively against D'Hanis. "They like to play a lot of small ball," he
said. "They are aggressive on the bases and they have some speed."
NOTES: D'Hanis has averaged almost 17 runs per game in the
playoffs. The Cowgirls routed Runge 23-0 in the area playoffs, swept
Brackett 17-5 and 19-0 in the regional quarterfinals, and beat Thorndale
10-4 in last week's regional semifinals. ... The other regional
finalists in Class 1A are Seymour and Marfa (Region I), Bosqueville and
Petrolia (Region II), and Martin's Mill and McLeod (Region III).
Coy Slavik is the sports editor for The Victoria Advocate.
Contact him at 361-574-1206, or by e-mail at
cslavik@vicad.com.
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GO LADY COMANCHES !
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