Belton ISD softball teams make the best of weather-affected NFCA Classic

By Tony Adams

Belton Journal



The Belton Tigers and Lake Belton Broncos softball teams had two uniquely different starts to their National Fastpitch Coaches Association Leadoff Classic Tournament starts last Thursday.

It started with bad weather early in the week that forced the tournament directors to scramble for turf fields.

Lake Belton pitched in and hosted a pod that included the Broncos, Academy, and Temple in Thursday afternoon action.

The Broncos first game was against the Lady Bees, coached by legendary Belton standout Bekah Alcozer. The Bees gave the Broncos all they could and fought the ball early on with some four defensive miscues. Down 8-2, Lake rallied for five runs in the fourth inning, two runs in the fifth, and held the Bees off the board in the sixth to win to win 9-8.

Alaysha Williams hit a home run and drove home two hits, Maddison Ruiz added two hits, and Alexis Ortiz and Madison Perkins each scored twice.

Natalie Hosch picked up the win and picked up the save.

Later Thursday, the Broncos took on the TemCats.

Lake busted open a 1-1 tie with seven runs in the third and coasted past Temple, 10-2.

Williams crushed her second homer of the day and added two RBI. Addison Sims hit her first homer of the season and drove home three.

The Broncos combined for 15 hits, with Ortiz, Williams, Sims, Analicia Diaz, and Madison Naser all logging multi-hit performances.

Ruiz pitched a one-hitter with two runs allowed (none earned) on one hit and struck out ten. Hosch went an inning for the save.

Belton stayed on Thursday’s schedule, as they had just a single game against Alpine Travis Field No. 1 at Midtown Park in Bryan.

The Lady Bucks scored the go-ahead run in the top of the fourth to defeat the Tigers in five innings, 4-3.

Iris Molina had an RBI single and Hailey Schutz stole home plate in the bottom of the third inning to tie the score at 2-2.

Alpine scored the go-ahead run on an overthrow.

Hanna Wheeler and Reagan Stuart combined to no-hit the Lady Bucks, as they combined to strike out eight and walk five. Two of the runs allowed were unearned.

Schutz had three of the Tigers’ six hits.

On Friday, both Belton and Lake Belton resumed the tournament in College Station.

Belton played in a three-game round robin at Veterans’ Park field two.

The Tigers were 1-2 in the pool, having lost to Friendswood 9-3, defeated Whitehouse 3-2, and lost to Lovejoy 3-0.

In the opener, Belton took a 1-0 on a second inning RBI double by Presli Thompson.

However, the Mustangs scored nine runs over the next three innings.

Jasmine Ruyle’s two-run single in the fifth inning pulled the Tigers to within six.

Thompson had two of Belton’s four hits.

Tara Stone took the loss in the circle.

In the second game, Stuart’s RBI single and Stone’s two-homer in the first were the lone runs posted as the Tigers outlasted Whitehouse. 3-2.

Stone and Stuart each had two hits in Belton’s eight hit output.

Wheeler allowed two runs on three hits, walked three and struck out three for the win in the circle. Stone picked up the save, having retired six straight.

In the final game of the day, Belton found tough sledding as Thompson and Iris Molina collected the only hits in a 3-0 shutout loss to Lucas Lovejoy.

Lake Belton’s Friday schedule resulted in a pair of evening games at College Station High School.

First, it was a ranked matchup as Class 5A No. 3 took on Class 6A No. 6 Bridgeland.

Naser’s two-run double in the bottom of the third provided Ruiz all the support that she needed in the circle as the Broncos shut out the Bears, 3-0.

Ruiz picked up the win in the circle, as she pitched five innings, allowed two hits, struck out ten and walked one. She also added an RBI single in the fifth.

Five different Broncos contributed hits.

In the nightcap, the Broncos scored three times in the first, once in the third, two in the fourth, and one in the fifth to get past the Klein BearKats, 7-1.

Ortiz scored on a passed ball, Naser crushed an RBI single and Lilli Herrera had a sacrifice fly in the opening inning to take a 3-0 lead.

After the BearKats scored in the bottom of the first off Klein starting pitcher Madilyn Schultz, Trista Sheka scored on a steal of home plate in the third, Hosch’s sacrifice bunt resulted in an error that scored Williams and Ortiz’s sacrifice fly scored Hosch in the fourth, and Herrera’s sacrifice fly in the fifth accounted for the scoring.

Naser had three hits and Ruiz had two to lead the Broncos.

Hosch pitched five innings for the victory, as she allowed one run on four hits, struck out four, and walked one.

On Saturday, the Broncos played late afternoon games against Little Elm and Conroe.

Against Little Elm, the Broncos pounded eight extra-base hits, as Ortiz and Naser had three hits each, Williams had three RBI, and Hosch scattered five hits in a 12-0 win.

In the second game, the Broncos took on Conroe.

Conroe took advantage of the opportunities that they were afforded as they defeated the Broncos, 11-1.

Six Broncos had base hits in the game, with Naser’s RBI single being the lone run for Lake.

Belton’s last two games of the tournament were postponed due to poor field conditions.

On Monday, both teams returned to action in non-district play.

In the late afternoon, Lake Belton posted seven runs in the bottom of the second inning and held on to be Fredericksburg, 12-6.

Analicia Diaz had a bases-clearing triple and Maddison Ruiz crushed a two-run homer to highlight the second.

Eight of Lake Belton’s 12 runs were unearned, due to four Billies errors.

Natalie Hosch picked up the complete game win in the circle, having struck out seven and walked one.

The Tigers hosted Harker Heights Monday evening at Lady Tiger Field.

Belton erased a three run Knights lead, but Heights scored four times in the fourth to defeat the Tigers, 8-4.

Six different Tigers posted hits, with Reagan Stuart, Tara Stone, and Aubrey Lynch.

Both teams will play at the Dragon Invitational in Round Rock starting on Thursday.

The Tigers will face Lockhart (9:45 am) and Thrall (11:30 am), and the Broncos will face Stony Point (3 pm) and Round Rock (6:30 pm).