SOFTBALL: Lady Chaps feel no pressure going into tournament

By Oscar LeRoy
Midland Reporter-Telegram

MIDLAND, TEXAS - The Midland College softball coach Angel Castro said her team won't be feeling any pressure this weekend when it plays in the WJCAC Softball Tournament this weekend.

The No. 3-seed Lady Chaparrals (31-18-1) open play at 3 p.m. Friday against No. 6 seed Frank Phillips College (12-36) at Lubbock Christian University. If they win that game, they will face No. 2-seed Howard College at 8 p.m. Friday. A loss would force them to play an elimination game at 12:30 p.m. Saturday.

The winner of the double-elimination tournament qualifies for the NJCAA Division I Softball Championship in Yuma, Arizona, May 24-28. 

MC got at least some momentum when it snapped Odessa College's 23-game winning streak and played the No. 4-ranked Lady Wranglers close in the final doubleheader of the regular season. The Lady Chaps lost the first game 7-5, before bouncing back with a 7-1 victory in the finale. That was a much better showing than the day before when OC cruised to 8-0 and 9-4 victories as the MC offense struggled against the Lady Wranglers' top two pitchers and had a few defensive miscues.

"We feel pretty confident. We played really well on Saturday and that's what we needed," Castro said. "They were just comfortable on that day and having fun. We were hitting the ball well and doing a lot of things right. We did a good job of executing. Also, our number one pitcher (Emily Maddux) pitched really well against a good offensive team and kept it under 100 pitches."

The Lady Chaps and Frank Phillips split a four-game series in Borger two weeks ago, so MC knows that going against the Lady Plainsmen won't be a walk in the park.

"Frank Phillips is really scrappy and they swing it well," Castro said. "We have to play solid defense against every team we play this weekend. We have got to be on our 'A' game this weekend.

"I think we have the potential to do just that. We have looked at the video and at the scouting reports and there's no pressure on us. We're just excited to play."

Follow Oscar on Twitter: @OLeRoy_MRT