HS Softball: Lantagne Deals on the Mound as Conroe Avenges Early Season Loss

CONROE, TX -- Humid weather and soggy conditions did not deter the Conroe Tigers (18-5) from putting on a strong defensive showing in a 4-0 shutout against the visiting New Caney Eagles (15-9-2) on Friday night.

Despite the team’s recent hot streak, the Tigers dropped their first matchup against New Caney in a close 5-6 loss on the road near the very beginning of district play.

With over a month since the loss, both teams have had ample opportunity to find weaknesses to exploit in the high-stakes rematch that will shake up the 13-6A standings.

In an exclusive interview with The Woodlands Online Sports, Conroe Head Coach Rachelle Harris discussed the importance of moving on from the past loss and how the team has drastically changed.

“We were just early in the season, and we’re a totally different team now,” explained Harris. “I mean, we have more confidence. We know what to do, how to adjust, we know how to overcome, you know, we still have some things that happened during the game, and we were able to move past it and build from it.”

One early issue for Conroe was a lack of expected hitting through the first two innings. The usually top-notch top of the Tiger lineup was sat down in consecutive order in the first and second innings.

Luckily for the Tigers, starting pitcher Eva Lantagne stepped to the mound and was dealing red-hot pitches from start to finish.

Throughout the game, Lantagne would go a full seven innings with at least one strikeout in every inning. Her dominance was most felt in the top of the second, where she sat down three straight batters with strikeouts.

“There are so many words, but Eva [Lantagne] is just dominant. The word that comes to my head is shut down,” said Harris, discussing her ace on the mound. “She just shuts it down anytime she’s out there. That’s just her mentality.”

Lantagne’s perspective as the focal point of the team’s defense is that of a player simply trying to keep the team in its advantageous position by throwing solid pitches.

“I think my role is to keep us in the game,” said Lantagne. “And it’s also to provide the energy. Because I know, like being in the middle, people feed off of what I’m letting off.”

Control on the defensive side turned into offensive sparks at the bottom of the third for Conroe following a third straight hitless half-inning for New Caney.

Despite the lead-off batter getting picked off at second, the bottom of Conroe’s lineup got aboard in three straight at-bats. Aaliyah Haynes and Maliyah Harrison stood in scoring position with one out before the real damage came off the bat of Kaylee Chatman.

Chatman drew solid contact before sending the ball to the outfield for an easy two-run RBI double to finally get the Tigers on the board.

The momentum continued in the bottom of the fourth, where lead-off batter Addison Mason was brought home immediately by an RBI triple off the bat of Skylar Green. She was brought home via a sacrifice play that put Conroe firmly in front 4-0.

“We can relax and not have to go outside of our comfort zone,” said Harris on the luxury provided by the defense. “We know how to wait for our pitches, not having to chase.”

While the Tigers were finding their swings at the plate, the Eagles continued to struggle with their batters finding no traction against Lantagne or the rest of the Conroe fielders.

An effort single in the top of the fourth from Emilee McKee was the first hit of the game by New Caney, but another clinic of consecutive strikeouts by Lantagne stranded McKee. Sly running and stealing by New Caney had resulted in nothing.

New Caney’s unfortunate stretch of runners left on base extended from the top of the fourth through the sixth innings, totaling three Eagle runners that were stranded when they were desperately needed on the scoreboard.

Each time the Eagles managed to get a runner aboard, strikeouts or sure-fire plays from the Conroe fielders kept them planted where they stood.

The Conroe bats cooled off following their two-run bottom of the fourth, but their cushion of four runs was all they needed in the face of extremely limited hitting from New Caney.

The fourth inning of three consecutive outs by New Caney in the top of the seventh ended the defensive affair with the Tigers defending their home diamond with the final score at 4-0.

“After we took that first loss, we said that we needed to take accountability for the loss and move forward,” said Lantagne. “We’ve really been working and focusing on the next game, winning every inning, and I feel like that’s all kind of come together for us.”

Conroe’s loss to New Caney earlier in the season remains their only loss through district play, and the team hopes to continue the winning ways through the rest of the schedule.

“We say it a lot is, ‘All gas, no brakes.’ So we can’t go backwards,” said Harris. “We've got to keep pushing. As long as we have the confidence, like I was talking about. Sometimes we get down on ourselves, we get hard on ourselves, but as long as we keep our heads up, no matter what comes, I think we’ll be okay.”

The next test for the Tigers will be on April 4th in a road matchup against the second-placed Oak Ridge War Eagles. Meanwhile, New Caney will get a crack at Oak Ridge on the 1st, with a chance to rebound in the standings.

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