Stuchal sprints to home base at tension-packed home game
March 4, 2022
The crowd is silent, their eyes glued to the scoreboard. The numbers glare on the red screen: a tie. Suddenly, cheers erupt, maracas shake and bread is thrown.
Yes, bread.
But bread was not the only thing being thrown on Thursday. The strong pitching and hitting gave the Coppell softball team the final run it needed in a 7-6 victory against Birdville at the Coppell ISD Baseball/Softball Complex.
At the top of the first inning, the Hawks were unable to score.
And then, it was Coppell’s turn. And turn the game they did. Junior Hannah Gullatt stepped in to hit at the bottom of the first inning. Gullatt quickly ran to first base. Then, junior Talia Stuchal singled with two strikes and advanced Gullatt to third. But it was sophomore Mallory Moore’s hit that scored Gullat. And thus commenced the first score of the game.
The Cowgirls followed with five more runs scored by the end of the first inning, made by Stuchal, Moore, senior Kat Miller, freshman Natalie Howell and freshman Nevaeh Carter (in that respective order). Junior Sabina Frosk ran from third base on Gullatt’s hit, resulting in the third out and ending the bottom of the first inning. Coppell took a 6-0 lead.
However, the action really got going in the third inning for the Hawks. By the end of the top third inning, five runs had been scored by the Hawks to cut the Coppell lead to 6-5.
The game came down to the fourth and final inning. And so, when the Hawks scored one run, tensions were high for the Cowgirls. The score was now 6-6 with only the bottom inning to get the win. Fischetti’s hit scored Stuchal for the winning run.
Fischetti was recognized with high fives and hugs at once.
“It was really good. [Fischetti] did a really good job,” Cowgirls softball coach Ashley Minick said. “She stepped up and got the timing that we needed.”
But perhaps the most remarkable thing about the game was not the win itself, but the previous game. Coppell’s game with Fort Worth North Side, also a win, had only occurred a few minutes prior to the game with Birdville. Stuchal contributes the endurance of the players in part to the energy created off the field.
“If you don’t have energy, you can’t win the game,” Stuchal said. “Our energy keeps the game going and it makes everyone feel confident and better. We wanted to start on the field and win, and I think with our energy we can do that 100% of the time.”
Follow Anushree De (@anushree_night) and @SidekickSports on Twitter.
