Softball: Lady Jags blank Richland

TROPHY CLUB -- While Richland entered its area round Class 5A playoff contest against Flower Mound as a district champion, it was the Lady Jaguars who proved to be the superior all-around team Thursday at Byron Nelson High School.

Flower Mound continued its stellar play in the field, and combined with a solid performance in the circle from Annelise Oswalt, cruised to a 5-0 win over the Lady Rebels.

Flower Mound outhit Richland, 11-6, and committed zero errors while the Lady Rebels made three, including one in a two-run Flower Mound first inning and another pair in the third, where the Lady Jaguars blew the game open by tacking on three more runs off Richland starter Haley Freyman.

"Our defense came through for us tonight," said Mark Larriba, Flower Mound head coach. "We didn't really come through offensively like we have been. Our short game got people on base but we didn't really have the clutch hit all night.

"We've been pretty good with situational hitting throughout the year but tonight we were off a bit. Credit to their pitcher, she did a good job and got us to chase some pitches. We might have been a little bit anxious, but our defense came through."

With the win, Flower Mound (9-5 in district) advances to the regional quarterfinals where they will face fellow District 8-5A foe Plano East (12-2), which won the district title.

However, the Lady Jaguars have had plenty of success against East the past three seasons, including handing the Lady Panthers their only two district losses of the season, sweeping East in district last year and eliminating the Lady Panthers in the area round via sweep in 2010.

On Thursday, Flower Mound got out to a fast start, receiving a leadoff single from Cassidy White, who advanced to second on the play after Richland's first baseman was unable control the relay throw. Emilee Burkhardt followed with a single and stolen base, putting runners at second and third, where Brooke Holloway promptly knocked them in with two outs when she dropped in a single behind Richland's middle infielders.

In the top of the third, Burkhardt and Katie St. Pierre reached on consecutive one-out singles with Burkhardt scoring on an error by the shortstop on a grounder from Christy Lisenby. Holloway reached on an error on the ensuing at-bat to increase the lead to 4-0, before Taylor Nabors capped off the inning with a run-scoring single.

In the circle, Oswalt had four strikeouts and scattered six hits.

Richland got the leadoff hitter on in the top of the first but Oswalt evaded damage by fanning Freyman for the final out.

"Annelise did a good job today," Larriba said. "She pitched with a lot of heart. Being a freshman, I'm ecstatic about the poise she pitches with. A lot of freshmen might have crumbled a long time ago but she has been very steady. She has a very good demeanor and approach to the game."

In the bottom of the second, the Lady Rebels had two on with one out, but Oswalt fielded consecutive grounders to get out of the inning. The freshman also received help in the bottom of the fifth, as the Lady Jaguars recorded the first out by nailing a runner attempting to advance from second to third, before Lisenby closed the inning by picking off a runner at first from the catcher position.

Holloway also showcased her arm at short, retiring a pair of Richland hitters on grounders deep in the hole in the bottom of the fourth and sixth innings, respectively, and finished 1-for-3 with two RBIs. Burkhardt and St. Pierre had three hits apiece and scored three runs combined for Flower Mound.

Now Flower Mound will focus on its second trip to the regional quarterfinals in the past three seasons.

"They're a very tough team," Larriba said. "They have a lot of talent and are well-coached. But we seem to match up well with them and have played them pretty decently.

"We know it's going to be a dogfight and that we have to play extremely well and continue to build on what we did the last few times. One thing we'll work on is doing a little better job of putting the ball in play and tightening it up at the plate when we get in 0-2 counts."

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