GANADO — Shiner’s run to the state championship last season was spurred by its execution in all phases of the game. The Lady Comanches are taking the same approach as they attempt to repeat this season. “We put ourselves in a good position to be successful if we can execute in all three phases,” Shiner head coach Jason Keller said. “When it doesn’t go well for you, you’ve got to be really good in another phase of the game. Unfortunately tonight, we made mistakes on defense, but we were able to execute offensively to overcome those mistakes.” Shiner put up crooked numbers in three innings and captured a 14-7 District 29-2A win over Ganado on Friday night at the Ganado softball field. The Lady Comanches improved to 16-3 on the season and 5-1 in district play with 15 hits and some help from some shaky defense by the Maidens (13-5-1, 4-1). “We do some things at practice that prepare us for 60 mph pitchers routinely,” Keller said. “We very seldom strike out a lot and we work on timing because that’s what we’re going to see in the playoffs. If you want to get where you want to go, you’re going to have to see good pitching.” Shiner’s Brinley Ramirez, who reached base six times, and Lauren Springfield each had three hits, and Jo Caka, Reagan Fluitt, Kloe Polasek and Cameron Cowan each had two. “At the beginning of the year, it was a little rough,” Caka said. “But at practice we’ve been hitting against a really good machine and that’s teaching us to keep our heads in and we just made it fly tonight.” Shiner sent 11 batters to the plate and scored six runs in the top of the first inning. “Shiner swings the bats,” Ganado head coach James Harp said. “We knew that coming in. We can swing it too. When you face teams that can swing the bat like that, you’ve got to make plays and you can’t give them six outs in an inning.” Ganado scored six runs in the second inning, highlighted by Kalyn Benavidez’s two-run home run, and took a 7-6 lead on an RBI double by Jordan Bundick in the third. “We’ve talked about handling adversity in different phases of the game whether it’s defensively or offensively in different situations,” Keller said. “I thought we’ve done that really well in the last two tight ballgames we’ve been in.” Springfield relieved Shiner starter Dyllan Chrisman in the fifth, and the pitchers held the Maidens scoreless over the last four innings. “It makes my nerves kind of jump every time,” Springfield said of pitching in relief. “But I do like coming in and pushing myself to be the best for myself and my team.” The Lady Comanches tied the game in the fourth inning, took the lead in the fifth, and built their advantage in the sixth and seventh innings. “Our girls were probably a little nervous,” Harp said. “It was a big game and we were probably a little uptight. We were a little uptight against Weimar the other night and made some mistakes, but settled down and played softball. “We had way too many errors and plays we didn’t make,” he added. “We counted seven or eight plays we didn’t make and you can’t do that against good teams or you’ll get beat.” With Ganado’s win over Weimar, and Weimar’s win over Shiner, the teams figure to be in a three-way for the district lead after the first round. “It’s a tossup,” Keller said. “Each one beat each other. The second round will be really, really critical when you play at home or you have to travel. We just have to see what happens.”
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