It was not the ending the Thrall Tigerettes had hoped for Wednesday night after dropping a 5-3 decision to the Mason Cowgirls in bi-district play. The Tigerettes finished the season with a 17-11 record.
It was all Tigerettes early on. Thrall picked up a pair of runs in the bottom of the first. Dezi Lopez started things off with a double to left. She advanced to second when Addison Leschber walked, and Lopez scored on an errant throw by the Cowgirls to give Thrall the early lead. Ashlyn Jarosek added to the lead with her run-scoring double to left that gave the Tigerettes a 2-0 lead after one.
“We got off to a great start, putting two runs on the board in the first inning,” said Thrall Coach Joan Sladek. “Simple errors snuck up on us though, which gave Mason scores that we were unable to recover from.”
Thrall maintained the lead until the third when the Cowgirls tied the game with a two-out rally. Kamryn Loeffler’s single to right began the rally and a Tori Perlichek single drove in the first run of the night for Mason. A Thrall error provided the second run for the Cowgirls and the score was tied entering the fourth.
Mason took the lead in the fourth inning, pushing three runs across. With the bases loaded, Perlichek roped a two-run single to right. One out later, Loeffler, who had walked earlier in the inning, stole home to give the Cowgirls a 5-2 lead.
The Tigerettes picked up one final run in the seventh. Aubrie Henderson was hit by a pitch with one out. Henderson was thrown out on Lopez’ fielder’s choice for the second out, but Leschber brought home Lopez with a line-drive double to center, making the final 5-3.
Jarosek led the Tigerettes at the plate with a pair of hits. Henderson took the loss, despite a strong effort in the circle. She finished the night allowing seven hits through seven innings while striking out five Mason batters.
“It is very hard to end the season this early,” Sladek said. “Sometimes though, it’s not about the wins, but about the life lessons you learn along the way through athletics. I’m very proud of the team.”
Despite the short playoff run, the Tigerettes saw some solid performances throughout the season. Henderson, who will be taking her talents to McMurray University in the fall, finished her senior season with an 11-7 record and added 99 strikeouts while posting a 3.579 earned run average. She also hit .419 for the season and was second on the team with seven homeruns.
Senior Addison Leschber, who will be playing with the University of Minnesota next year, led the team at the plate, hitting .609 for the season with a team-high 10 homeruns. She also led the team in runs batted in with 52.
“I wish our seniors, Addison, Aubrey, Karli Quintanilla, and Bel Herrera, the very best as they move forward,” Sladek added.
Lopez and Jarosek, both sophomores, should anchor a solid returning lineup next year. Lopez finished the season second on the team with a .552 batting average. Jarosek, meanwhile, hit .369 and was second on the team in runs batted in with 33.
