By Kristen Shepard
Staff Writer
Tensions were high as the Coppell Cowgirls softball team walked onto the field last Friday night. The outcome of this game against Keller Central determined whether the team would advance to playoffs, or if the season would end as the seventh inning came to a close.
Taking a lead into the seventh inning, the Cowgirls season ended with a 7-4 defeat after the Lady Chargers hit four home runs in their final at-bat. The defeat ends Coppell’s season short of a playoff berth.
“We really held on to [Central] throughout the game. It was the best I’ve seen our team play all year,” sophomore shortstop Lindsay Stivers said. “It was awful to watch it slip away at the end of the game. We just had so much momentum, and we all thought we could win it.”
Stivers hit doubles back-to-back in the fifth and sixth innings, and felt the possibility of a playoff run being less and less far-fetched as the game entered the sixth tied at 3.
“Our team definitely had great chemistry this year. We came into the Keller Central game tied with Southlake in district and knew we had to play our best,” head coach Katie Krug said. “This year was really the first year this group of girls played on varsity together, we graduated twelve seniors last year.”
Coppell opened the season 0-3 before rebounding to get into playoff contention.
“A lot of what wasn’t clicking was our teamwork,” Stivers said. “We were all playing as individuals at the beginning of the season. It wasn’t until we all played as a team that we starting playing better. We have the skill and the talent, we just struggled to put it all together.”
Senior leaders and captains Mackinsey Yoes and Roka Zimmer led the Cowgirls efforts. From giving personal advice to the younger girls to always being reliable as they step up to the plate, Yoes and Zimmer played a vital role in the team coming together.
“Being a senior gave me a chance to finally take a leadership position on the team,” Yoes said. “I know how important good leadership can be.”
The season had been full of ups and downs, with the peak of the season arriving as the Cowgirls took on Southlake Carroll. When the teams played in Southlake, Coppell was defeated 11-10 on March 9, igniting a desire for a victory the next time they played each other. When the Lady Dragons came to Coppell, Coppell defeated Southlake Carroll 8-5 on April 10.
“Beating Southlake was huge for our team,” Yoes said. “We finally got the momentum we needed. That and [the game against Central] were the season highlights to me.”
This fall Yoes will play softball at Blinn College. Zimmer will attend Texas A&M-Galveston where she has not committed to play.
“Roka and Mack are such awesome players and people,” Stivers said. “We can always trust Roka to really take care of the ball in the field and at the plate. Mackinsey is the same way, and she’s always there to give me advice on and off the field”.
Krug will miss not having Yoes and Zimmer in her 2013 lineup.
“Mackinsey and Roka are both great leaders and girls to have on the team” said Krug. “It’s going to be hard saying goodbye to them, they really stepped it up this season.”
