Dateline: May 1, 2008

Lady Broncos roll Follett to earn top seed

By Sandy Anderberg, Clarendon Enterprise

The Lady Broncos left no doubt as to who was the better team in their play off seeding game against Follett on Tuesday in Fritch. 

It was the third meeting of the year after a 1-1 split in regular season play.  The 10-3 win pushed the ladies to the number one seed in the Region 1 1-A Bi-District race.  The Lady Broncos who are currently at 15-3 will take on Ranger in a best two-out-of-three Friday and Saturday, May 2-3, at Abilene Cooper High School at 5:30 p.m. on Friday and 2:30 p.m. on Saturday. 

“I won the toss, and we’re going to go with two out of three,” head coach Gary Jack said. “We are the number one seed going into the Area game, and that’s where we wanted to be. 

“We will have some girls gone in the game against Ranger because of the UIL State Academic meet; and we thought if we went with this format, we could get some girls back for the Saturday game.” 

If a third game is needed, it will follow the second game.

In the Follett game, Clarendon got things rolling in their favor early on when they scored four runs in the first four innings to take a 4-0 lead.  After a scoreless fifth, the Lady Panthers rallied back to come within two runs of Clarendon.  But determination kicked in for the Lady Broncos, and they put the game out of reach by scoring five runs in the seventh and holding Follett scoreless.

“They got some hits and runs on us in that sixth inning,” Jack said. “They had three hits in a row and took advantage of an error that we made.  But we came back in the seventh inning to score five runs to seal the deal.”

Freshman Danielle Ford was on the mound and, according to Jack, pitched a great game. 

“Danielle threw a great game,” Jack said.  “It was nearly a perfect game, and she was very consistent.  Going into the fifth, she didn’t have any hits or walks; and she struck out 10 batters. And our defense played great behind her.” 

Also according to Jack, this game was one of the best played by the Lady Broncos. 

“We really played the best game of the year,” Jack said.  “It was nearly flawless.”

The game was the third time this year these teams have played with each team getting one win. 

“We started off hitting the ball against their really good pitcher,” Jack said. “That’s something we didn’t do when we lost to them. We’ve played them six times in two years, and we’ve won four of those games.” 

The ladies hit the ball well against Follett, according to Jack.

“We had some really big hits,” Jack said.  “Macy Shadle had two singles, a triple, and scored three runs; and Abby Patten got us going when we needed it with a shot down the third base line with two outs.  Erin Holland also had a single and triple, and Danielle Ford and Brandi Mays did a nice job of hitting the ball.  Overall, it was just a solid game for us.”

The ladies are currently ranked 19th in the Coaches’ Poll and are confident they can move up the ladder with a big win over Ranger in the Area game this next weekend.