By Alexandra Dalton
Staff Writer
The Coppell Cowgirls (3-6 in district play) came out onto the Coppell Middle School West field prepared to play a hard game against (7-2 in district play) the Lewisville Farmers. Sadly, the Cowgirls lost out to the previous Class-5A state champions 9-2, but they ended the season trying their very hardest.
The Farmers started out hitting well with six runs in the first inning, but senior shortstop Erica Zimmer put a stop to it with the final out.
“They came out hitting us in the beginning, then we started playing our defense,” varsity coach Krug said. “But they got six hits right off the bat and that can be hard to defend.”
In the second inning, the Cowgirls tamed their rivals to only three runs for the Farmers, but the Lewisville defense kept them humble with no runs in the inning, leaving the score 9-0.
“I was really proud of our team, because this is the team that won state last year, that can get in your head and make you nervous, but I think we did great,” freshman catcher Madi Traver said. “We got off to a bad start, because they jumped on us so early, we couldn’t come back from that easily, but we definitely made improvements during the game.”
In the third inning the Cowgirls picked it up with a ground ball catch and a throw to first base by both sophomore pitcher Lindsay Shaw and Zimmer. Freshman infielder Sami Thomas caught a fly ball, making it a great defensive inning for the Cowgirls.
On offense, Zimmer hit a groundball to third base that slipped through the infielder’s glove. While sophomore outfielder Julia Sircar was up to bat, Zimmer slid into second while the Farmers were distracted, putting a man in scoring position, but by the end of the inning the score remains 9-0.
Heading into the fourth inning, the Farmers started out with a walk and followed up with a single, but senior infielder Lindsay Stivers then caught the next hit, and threw it to second base for a double play.
Things heated up as Stivers reached first off a walk on offense, and was followed by Traver’s hit for a double, moving Stivers all the way to third. Senior outfielder Katy Bryan then hit a single up the third base line, letting Stivers run home. The inning ended with a score of 9-1.
The Cowgirls increased their defense intensity in the fifth inning as the Farmers, again, got no runs. Zimmer hit a double and sophomore outfielder Ali Gentry landed on first base off a single. Gentry stole second, while Stivers was batting, pushing Zimmer to third. Stivers hit it far outfield, allowing Zimmer to slide into home. Gentry attempts the same but was tagged out just before she slid into home plate.
“We did really good defensively, they just came out hitting the ball really well and they had two bombs right off the bat,” Zimmer said. “We had to to come back from that and ours hit just weren’t dropping in good spots; we were hitting them right at people.”
With the score at 9-2, the sixth inning was dry as Sircar, Bryan and Thomas caught fly balls and the teams faced off. During the seventh and final inning, the Farmers get two runs, but the Cowgirls do not return the favor.
“I love how we fought back and I love this team so much,” Zimmer said. “We have so much heart and we never quit.”
The season ended with a bang and with heart for the Cowgirls, and their fight will not be forgotten to the new or old members of the organization.
“They played hard, the kids have heart, so I am just super proud of them,” Krug said. “I’m proud of the season the girls had.”
