ABILENE — As quickly as it appeared that the 2007 season for the Weatherford Lady Roos softball team was going to go for another week, that feeling went away just as fast.

The Lady Roos looked dominating and in control of the game in Game 2 of their bi-district series with the Midland High Lady Bulldogs, winning 7-3. But the Lady Roos could not get the necessary breaks they needed to win the pivotal Game 3, losing 5-0 and losing the series 2-1.

“This game is all about momentum,” said Weatherford head softball coach Phillip Beyer. “We had that in the second game. Then when they came back at the end of the second game, and I talked to my team. ‘We have to get up early and get some momentum back.’ And they had all the momentum and they just kept putting pressure on us and it did not seem like we would catch a break.

“Give [Midland] some credit. They are a good team and they are here for a reason. They are 24-6. They are not here by accident.”

The differences between Game 1 Friday night and Game 2 Saturday afternoon was night and day for the Lady Roos. Weatherford was methodical at the plate, took advantage of extra outs when the Midland defense committed errors and got a dominating performance from starting pitcher Hannah Schnebly. Where Schnebly did not strike out a batter until the fourth inning in Game 1, she struck out four of the first six batters she faced in Game 2.

The Weatherford bats broke everything open in Game 2 in the top of the third inning. After getting two outs, it appeared as if the score would remain 0-0 going to bottom of the third when Midland’s Alex Burleson muffed a ground ball at second base, allowing Megan Askew to reach first base. Brandi Berry followed it up with a single and Schnebly was issued a walk, loading the bases for Randi Tongate. The Weatherford catcher delivered a two-RBI single to right field, giving the Lady Roos their first runs of the series and the first lead of the game. Hopie Perez shot the ball down to the right field corner for a two-RBI triple, which put an end to Midland star pitcher Kim White for Game 2.

“One of the biggest differences in the games was the umpires in Games 1 and 3 were giving [White] that pitch that’s at least a foot off the plate,” Beyer said. “In the second game, the umpire was not giving it, so she had to throw it in and when she has to throw in, she is real hittable. But when she gets that pitch outside, she is real tough out there.”

The Lady Roos put another three runs on in the top of the fifth, making the score 7-0 Weatherford, but things started to slip away from that point on.

The Midland hitters began to apply pressure to the Lady Roos. In the bottom of the fifth, Lady Roos’ center fielder Shawna Henderson threw a runner out at third and another one at home to keep the goose egg on the board for Midland. In the bottom of the sixth, Beyer switched pitchers, trying to give Schnebly a rest before the potential Game 3 and inserted fellow sophomore pitcher Ashleigh Workman. Workman, who had an encouraging outing Friday in Game 1, was hittable in Game 2, forcing Schnebly to come off the bench after the Lady Bulldogs scored three runs on four hits in the sixth.

Schnebly made quick work of the Lady Bulldogs, but the effect of bringing Schnebly back would be felt later.

“Most definitely,” Beyer said about whether or not re-inserting Schnebly in the bottom of the sixth of Game 2 affected her for Game 3. “Hannah’s tough and, in this heat, to throw like she threw – she has been under the weather all week. She missed practice the first three days of the week and we were worried about her energy level. She came out and she was a warrior. She threw hard, as long she could. Having to bring her back in Game 2 when we were hoping to get two innings of rest, that is tough to sit down and then come back.”

In Game 3, Midland had opportunity after opportunity to score a run, as they had bases loaded in the second and had two runners in scoring position in the fourth, but they could not get those runners across home plate, as the Lady Roos, by sheer force of will, would not allow Midland to score.

While the Lady Bulldogs applied pressure on the bases, Weatherford struggled to get runners in scoring position. Askew hit a leadoff single in the top of the fourth and was moved into scoring position on a sacrifice by Berry, but that was the only Weatherford runner to reach second base.

The game, and the series, was decided in the bottom of the fifth and sixth innings. Midland broke the game open in the fifth, as it scored three runs off Schnebly in the fifth, but the nail in the coffin came on a two-run home run over the center field wall by Emily Imkon, who had only batted once during Games 1 and 2, in the bottom of the sixth.

Weatherford finished the season at 25-11.



Weatherford 7, Midland 3 (Game 2)

Weatherford 004 030 0 — 7 9 0

Midland 000 003 0 — 3 10 2

Schnebly, Workman (6), Schnebly (6) and Tongate; White, Britton (3) and Imkon. W — Schnebly. L — White. 2b — (WHS) Henderson; (MHS) Taylor. 3b — (WHS) Perez; (MHS) none. SB — (WHS) Askew, Berry; (MHS) none. CS — (WHS) none; (MHS) Lopez.



Midland 5, Weatherford 0 (Game 3)

Weatherford 000 000 0 — 0 2 1

Midland 000 032 X — 5 11 1

Schnebly and Tongate; White and Imkon. W — White. L — Schnebly. 2b — (WHS) none; (MHS) Taylor, Cervantez. HR — (WHS) none; (MHS) Imkon. WP — (WHS) Schnebly (2); (MHS) none. PB — (WHS) Tongate; (MHS) none. SB — (WHS) none; (MHS) Baeza. CS — (WHS) Henderson; (MHS) none.