Published: May 11, 2008 02:08 am            

Lady Hornets draw Nederland in fourth round

The Huntsville Item



The Huntsville Lady Hornets, fresh off an upset of the state’s No. 2-ranked team, the Brenham Cubettes, learned of their Class 4A regional semifinals opponent Friday when Nederland closed out its quarterfinal series with Richmond Foster with another shutout of the No. 6 Lady Falcons.

Nederland (25-8-1), the District 22-4A champions, received a pair of one-hit shutouts in two 1-0 wins from pitcher Caitlin Austin to earn a spot in this week’s regional semifinal round.

“Foster may have come out flat in the series since they only had two losses coming in,” Huntsville coach Nancy Hopper said. “We had the mindset that we might be playing Foster before the series started but still feel comfortable that we know enough about Nederland as well.”

Hopper indicated to The Item on Saturday that she had met with Nederland coach Sissy Yeaman, but details had not yet been finalized. She said that there was a likelihood that a best-of-three series would be played somewhere in the Houston area.

“Nederland is a tough team with a lot of upper-classmen,” Hopper said. “Their girls are very athletic and they’ve been getting some good pitching. I believe that the three games that we played against Waltrip will help us here.”

After receiving a first-round bye, Nederland posted shutouts in the area round against Brazosport (1-0 and 5-0) before advancing to play Foster. Austin (260 strikeouts, 0.50 earned-run average this season) stretched her scoreless-inning streak to 39-straight in the game three win.

The Lady Hornets (18-15) have a streaking pitcher of their own.

Sophomore Shelby Smith has not allowed a base runner to score since an unearned run came across in the first inning of game one against Waltrip as she has pitched 27-straight scoreless frames.

Smith kept the Cubettes at bay on Thursday in the 2-0 win at Bearkat Softball Field and held their potent lineup to just four hits and even retired nine-straight batters at one point in the game.

The winner of the regional semifinal matchup will play either Montgomery or Barbers Hill for a chance to punch their ticket to the state softball tournament in Austin.

Montgomery (30-4-1) swept a pair of games against Elgin while Barbers Hill (25-8) took care of Santa Fe.

“Barbers Hill is a top-notch team with good pitching,” Hopper said. “Montgomery is really a class-act team. I would love the opportunity to match up with Montgomery in the regional finals if we can get past this one. It says a lot about our district to have all three teams in the regional quarterfinals.”

        

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