HS Softball: Second Inning Surge Pushes Highlanders Over College Park During Scorching Rivalry Game

THE WOODLANDS, TX -- Intense heat masked the bitter rivalry between the visiting Woodlands Highlanders (9-4, 3-1) and the College Park Cavaliers (9-9, 1-4) in a 9-2 victory for the strong-hitting Highlanders.

Shifts at the top of the district standings have left 13-6A without a clear leader or undefeated teams. With a win today, either team would have positioned itself for a possible push into the top four.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Highlander Head Coach Tim Borths discussed the current state of the district and how the team aims to secure its place in the hierarchy.

“As of last night, there are no undefeated teams in this district,” explained Borths. “So every win is a big win. You can’t afford to take any team lightly because everybody is going to give you their best ball game.”

Luckily for the Highlanders, they gave College Park a disciplined style of play that benefitted from early mistakes to turn the game into an early runaway.

A leadoff walk from Cassy Trevino got The Woodlands started on the right foot, followed by an infield error that advanced her into scoring position for free.

One out and another single later, Reagan McCoy got the first RBI of the game through a sacrifice play that brought Trevino home for a top of the first 1-0 lead for the Highlanders. Runner interference ended what could have been a strong run, but the impact of early runs continued to pester the Cavaliers as the pitches stacked up.

No response from College Park in the bottom of the first brought the disciplined Highlander batters back up to do further damage.

Instead of swinging for the fences, the Highlander bats watched several College Park pitches skip into the dirt for three consecutive walks and one hit-by-pitch.

This stretch of damaging walks and free runners culminated in the Cavaliers giving up six runs and deciding to sub out pitchers to hopefully stop the bleeding.

College Park’s decision worked, but the mountain of a 7-0 Woodlands lead in just two innings was a task that proved too massive to overcome.

Not helping College Park was their lackluster presence at the plate. Swings connected with air during the first inning, but a bright spot did shine through briefly in the second.

Back-to-back walks drawn by Kegan DeYoung and Ava Olano put College Park in its best position to score a run with none out. Then, a strong swing from Alaina Castaneda sent a ball into the outfield for a two-run RBI double that brought some juice back to the Cavalier dugout.

Unfortunately for College Park, their second inning spurt would be the only instance of runs coming home for the rest of the game.

Lockdown fielding from the Highlanders saw multiple acrobatic catches suck the air out of the Cavalier bats. Dives in the outfield and high-pointing catches in the infield snagged potential base-hits and turned them into inning-ending outs.

“I put more pride in that than our hitting,” said Borths. “The old adage is that defense wins championships, and I’m proud that our girls can sometimes play like dirtbags, for lack of a better term.”

Shutdown play, including back-to-back three and out innings in the fifth and sixth, sank what potential College Park may have had for a late comeback.

Meanwhile, the Highlanders poured on insurance runs late in the game due to their continued, consistent hitting.

Players near the top of the lineup, like Allie Tatum, feasted on throws that meandered toward the plate for frequent base hits. Tatum alone accounted for four hits, including a double, ensuring that the Highlanders always had players threatening to extend the lead.

“Hitting comes and goes, but Allie has done a phenomenal job as staying hot through most of our games,” said Borths. “We’ve had a number of players step up today. Reagan McCoy had a good appearance yesterday. Gabby Grieco was great, too. It’s just good to see the team playing consistently from top to bottom.”

Two more runs in the fourth and sixth innings gave the Highlanders enough of a cushion to coast out the rest of the game at the plate, ending in a 9-2 win that keeps the team near the top of the district standings.

“We’ve got New Caney when we get back, but for the girls, it’s time for a break,” said Borths. “They’re going to have the rest of Spring Break off, but we’ll reconvene on Monday and put together a game plan based on the scouting we’ve done of New Caney.”

The Woodlands will battle the top team in 13-6A on Tuesday night at 6:15, while College Park will take a similar break before traveling to Cleveland.

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