HS Softball: Conroe Crushes Oak Ridge at the Plate in Double Digit Victory

CONROE, TX -- The Conroe Tigers thoroughly handled business in their 14-0 home shutout win over the Oak Ridge War Eagles on Friday night.

Despite the War Eagles entering the affair with a reliable lineup that had already tallied over ten wins, the wheels quickly fell off to start what would become a heavily lopsided affair.

A four-batter stretch in the top of the first saw one War Eagle reach first before a grounder to second ended the inning. While not demonstrative hitting, it was no indication of what was to come for the unsuspecting War Eagles.

Oak Ridge’s first signs of struggle came when the first four opposing batters reached first on consecutive walks. The only thing preventing an opening run scoring on a walk was a slight overcommitment by the lead-off runner, leading to a tag at third.

However, the Tigers took this leading opportunity and ran with it.

Skylar Green understood her assignment and swung a confident ball into deep left field, where it was corralled just before the warning track. This deep fly to the outfield bought enough time for the speedy Kaylee Chatman to round the bags and come home for the opening run.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Conroe Head Coach Rachelle Harris discussed her players' team-leaning mindset, regardless of the moment.

“They are doing what they can for the team,” explained Harris. “It doesn’t matter if it's a sacrifice; they’re doing that for the team. And I think we’ve instilled that mindset in our girls, and that’s why we succeed.”

Chatman wasn’t the only player to benefit from the first inning onslaught. Alisa Sneed and Addison Mason also capped off journeys around the basepath before Oak Ridge finally clamped down defensively to mercifully end the first down by three.

Oak Ridge’s chance to respond with hitting of their own was snuffed out by a fast-footed Conroe defense that kept everything off the bat in front of them.

Back-to-back strikeouts from Aaliyah Hayes sat down the first two batters of the second before a grounder to Sneed tied up the top of the second in a runner-less effort for the War Eagle offense.

With Oak Ridge still silent on the scoreboard, the Tigers flexed their might in the bottom of the second with the strongest hitting performance by either team on the night.

All but two batters in the nine-man Tiger lineup managed to reach base and come all the way home during the bottom of the second. Conroe’s hitting was so strong that the team strung together six consecutive hits, including five straight doubles.

“We are so versitile,” said Harris. “We have so much speed, but we have a lot of power, too. We’re just built a little different 'cause we have a lot of answers no matter what comes at us.”

Courtesy runners added further speed on the bases, heightening Conroe’s already huge advantage on the scoreboard.

By the time the dust settled on the second inning, the Tigers had brought the top of their lineup to bat twice. This incredible run finally ended on a Sneed strikeout, but the 10-0 lead going into the third had to be chipped into, or Oak Ridge risked getting run-ruled.

Unfortunately for the War Eagles, their third inning effort mirrored their second inning. Even with the insertion of a fresh Conroe pitcher, Eva Lantagne still sat down all three batters she faced consecutively for a quick outing.

“[Eva] has such a dominating presence on the mound,” said Harris, praising her pitcher. “The defense knows nothing else but to back her up.”

Conroe’s room on the scoreboard grew to another high in the bottom of the third when a single from Mason jumpstarted a minor surge for the Tigers.

A sliding double from Kylee Davis with one out got her aboard in scoring position before Lantagne brought both of them home on a two-run RBI single for a 12-0 lead.

The War Eagles were fortunate to see solid pitching secure two strikeouts, which quickly shut down Conroe. However, the team had to find some energy at the plate in the fourth and fifth innings.

Oak Ridge’s fight during the fourth mostly came down to desperately trying to connect on Lantagne’s throws. But, the accurate pitches from the ice-cold Tiger put the War Eagles into another three up, three down inning where no runners had a chance to reach first.

Another scoreless inning was starting to suck the energy out of Oak Ridge, but the final nails came from further domination by the rampaging Tigers.

Conroe seemed to be taking a step back in the bottom of the fourth due to back-to-back outs from the lead-off and on-deck batters. But, a confident Sneed stepped into the batter’s box before housing a deep shot over the centerfield fence for a solo home run.

As if Sneed’s homer wasn’t bad enough, Mason followed her up by slamming a solo shot of her own on the first incoming pitch.

Oak Ridge was spared of another lengthy inning by flying out the following batter, but the explosion of back-to-back home runs sent shockwaves through the stands as the Tigers looked to close out while up 14-0.

The War Eagles’ last chance to extend the game saw the team produce its strongest hitting of the game. A leadoff out started the team off on the wrong foot, but a single from Ava Bennett and a follow-up walk got Oak Ridge its first runner in scoring position.

However, Conroe was not willing to let their shutout end in the fifth. Lantagne locked in on the mound to produce back-to-back strikeouts that stranded both runners while simultaneously ending the game via run rule.

Conroe’s demonstrative 14-0 win is symptomatic of the team’s immense hitting ability, paired with the coaching staff’s belief in the players to carry out a trusted plan.

“We played as a complete team tonight,” said Harris. “We came together and picked one another up each and every inning. I am really proud of them.”

Conroe’s win prepares the team for spring break. Their next game is scheduled for Tuesday afternoon at Grand Oaks. Meanwhile, Oak Ridge will have to address its shortcomings before its match against the same Grizzly team on Wednesday.