Shiner routs Sabinal to advance to regional final
Saturday, May 19, 2018
by Marcus Gutierrez, Victoria Advocate Sports Writer
AdvoSports.com Article | Shiner Lady Comanche Softball | Shiner Comanche Sports Home Page
SEGUIN — As the leadoff hitter for Shiner, Cameron Cowan’s job is to get on base to use her speed and quickness.
The Shiner Lady Comanches softball team poses for a group photo on Saturday, May 19, 2018 after defeating Sabinal 11-1 at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin to advance to the Region IV-2A final next week. contributed photo
Cowan came up to the plate with runners on second and third base with the Lady Comanches trailing Sabinal 1-0 in the bottom of the fifth inning on Saturday.
Cowan had an opportunity to drive in runs for Shiner and was going to take advantage of it.
“Mainly when somebody starts it off, it just keeps going because it’s contagious,” said the sophomore center fielder. “I’m just excited to produce to lead the team to a win.”
Cowan hit a two-run triple to start a rally as Shiner defeated Sabinal 11-1 in six innings due to the mercy rule in a Game 2 of the Class 2A regional semifinals at Ed Kruse Stadium, sweeping the series against the Lady Yellowjackets.
[[ NOTE: Shiner defeated Sabinal by the score of 7-0 in the first game of this "best-of-three series" on Friday night, also at TLU in Seguin. ]]
Shiner (31-7-1) advances to the Region IV-2A final for the fifth straight year under head coach Steven Cerny. It’s also the sixth straight appearance in the regional final for the program.
The Lady Comanches will face Normangee with a time and place to be announced at a later date.
The Lady Panthers swept Harper in their regional semifinal best-of-three series.
“We have always liked our leadoff hitter to be an RBI person too,” Steven Cerny said. “In games like this, the bottom of the lineup can get on base and the leadoff hitter will get a few more at-bats. She’s not your typical leadoff hitter, she’s more like a three-type of hitter.”
Cowan’s two-run triple started a six-run inning for Shiner to take a 6-1 lead. She went 2-for-4 with two triples and two RBIs.
With the bases loaded in the fifth Lauren Hass hit a two-run single.
The pressure situation didn’t phase the junior third baseman.
“I just knew that I had to sit back and relax,” said Haas, who went 1-for-3 with two RBIs. “I knew that my pitch would come and I made contact. She was a good pitcher. We just took advantage when she got tired.”
Emily Cerny hit an RBI single and Sammi Kremling had a bases-loaded walk in the fifth.
The Lady Comanches had just two hits before the fifth.
“I thought that we had some good at-bats early, but we just hit it right to them,” Steven Cerny said. “Once their pitcher tired down a bit, our hitters made adjustments and took advantage of it.”
Senior starting pitcher Bethany Nevlud got the win in the circle and improved to 22-3-1.
Nevlud found herself in a couple of jams in the second through fourth innings.
“Coach (Steven) Cerny always says to just go out there and trust your mechanics,” said the right-handed pitcher. “The biggest thing about today was that they saw my pitches on Friday. I knew that the defense behind me was going to work and I knew they could get the job done. You don’t hit the panic button when it starts going wrong.”
Steven Cerny thought Nevlud battled back when runners were in scoring position.
“I was happy that we didn’t give up a big inning,” Steven Cerny said. “They had some chances with runners on base, but we didn’t panic and didn’t make any errors and that was big for us. I thought that Bethany pitched strikes and the defense backed her up.”
The Lady Comanches added five runs in the sixth.
Cowan led off with a triple and Taylor Wenske brought Cowan home on an RBI single.
A Lady Yellowjackets’ error brought home the second run of the inning for the Lady Comanches.
Emily Cerny hit a sacrifice fly and Courtney Boedeker hit a two-run single to seal the deal for the Lady Comanches. Cerny went 1-for-4 with two RBIs for the Lady Comanches.
Now the Lady Comanches will turn their attention to Normangee.
“That’s your goal is to get to the regional final to have a chance to get to state,” Steven Cerny said. “We know it’s not going to be easy. All year you play for that opportunity to go to state and now we have our chance.”
BOX SCORE Class 2A Region IV Semifinal - Game 2 Texas Lutheran University, Seguin Saturday, May 19, 2018 Shiner 11, Sabinal 1 123 456 R H E Sabinal 001 000 —- 1 1 4 Shiner 000 065 —- 11 11 3 W — Bethany Nevlud (22-3-1). L — Maya Shelby. Highlights: (S) Cameron Cowan 2-for-4, 2 3B, 2 RBI: Taylor Wenske 2-for-4, RBI; Lauren Haas 1-for-3, 2 RBI; Emily Cerny 1-for-4, 2 RBI; Courtney Boedeker 2-for-3, 2 RBI.
Marcus Gutierrez is a sports writer for the Victoria Advocate.
Contact him at 361-580-6588 or mgutierrez@vicad.com
© Copyright
BaerCom - Shiner, Texas 2018
