ARANSAS PASS — The Lyford Lady Bulldogs dropped the first game of a best-of-three regional semifinal series against the Hallettsville Lady Brahmas 8-4 on Thursday night.
“We struggled a little bit on the offensive side,” Lyford coach Albert Garza said. “I think we fill fix it and be able to bounce back. I think the girls knew what they did wrong, maybe we needed this. I think we will be OK.”
Lyford opened the scoring during the bottom of the first inning with a shot down the third-base line by Mikaela Lopez. Alyssa Garcia’s leadoff single and two stolen bases put her in scoring position, and Lopez drove her in.
The teams went back and forth during the middle innings, but it was Hallettsville that broke the game open. Hanna Zachary, Emily Migl and Kaylie Olivarez each drove in one run with bases loaded to give the Lady Brahmas a 6-3 lead.
“Offensively, they did better than we did,” Garza said. “They hit the ball well, and we knew they were going to hit the ball. We struggled a bit with the pitching. Our pitchers struggled with the hole in the circle.”
Lyford cut the deficit to 6-4, but Hallettsville tacked on two more runs in the seventh to put the game out of reach.
Migl had a great evening in the circle for Hallettsville. Lyford had some good moments from certain batters like Garcia and Lopez, but the rest of the hitting was sporadic at times and the offense did not string together many hits like the Lady Brahmas.
“Maybe this is what they needed,” Garza said. “A little sucker punch to the chin. I do not think we are nervous or scared, I think we will bounce back OK, God willing.”
The teams will square off again Saturday. If Lyford wins the second game of the series, the teams will meet again 30 minutes later to decide which squad is going to the regional final.
