by MOSES LEOS III
May 17, 2013. 8:06 p.m.
Most people look at the date and brush it off completely. Maybe they went to a movie, perhaps a restaurant, or did nothing at all.
However, the moment in time means so much more to the players and coaching staff of the Hays High Lady Rebel softball team. Their state championship run over the past weekend may not have transpired without it.
On this night, the Lady Rebels went through a program defining, and eventual state title defining moment. Ironically, the moment occurred in a loss; yet the loss was one that should have heralded their exit from the playoffs.
At 8:06 p.m. on May 17, Corpus Christi Moody centerfielder Kayla Serrato smashed a walk-off, two-run RBI down the left field line in game two of the regional semifinals. The 4-2 Moody victory forced a decisive third game in that series.
Up until that point, everything seemed to be going the way of the Lady Rebels. One month earlier, Hays clinched the 27-4A crown – a feat the program had not accomplished in nearly a decade.
Hays carried the momentum into the playoffs, dispatching San Antonio Jefferson 12-0 in the bi-district round. It continued into the area and regional quarterfinal rounds, as the Lady Rebels dispatched local media favorites, Cedar Park and Dripping Springs. Hays outscored both opponents 18-6.
The Moody series changed the mindset of the Lady Rebels. No longer was the road to a state title going to be defined by overwhelming blowouts. The ability to dig deep and grit out victories was the priority. That was evident in the 1-0 win over the CC Moody Lady Trojans, as stellar pitching and strong defense kept Hays afloat.
However, the loss in game two was crushing. Hays led the entirety of the ball game, making every defensive play necessary to win, until the final inning. A few miscues, along with timely Moody hitting, gave the Lady Trojans all of the momentum going into the decisive third game.
Moody’s win seemed to take so much more. The gaunt, disappointed looks from the players told the tale; Hays looked on the verge of total collapse. Fans were equally spent, as they scrambled to make sense of what transpired on the dry Floresville High School softball field. The emotional turn of events seemed to signal the beginning of the end of the Lady Rebel season.
But that didn’t happen. What should have signaled the end, instead, reinvigorated a lesson the Lady Rebels have learned all season long: “One pitch at a time, one inning at a time, one game at a time.”
That has been the motto of the club all year. Head coach Aaron Fuller and his staff have been pounding the message from the beginning of the season. From the offense, to the pitching, to the defense, Fuller ingrained a patient mentality in his players – a patience which instilled confidence to face adversity and smash it out of the park.
That was the case between the second and third games of the Moody series. Fuller gathered his team, and relayed a message of encouragement.
“I told them great teams, championship teams, have speed bumps like this,” Fuller said. “Any championship is not easy; you have to fight for it. Great teams have to overcome this.”
Hays fell behind early in game three, but battled back. They fought with vigor, rallying to tie the game in the bottom of the sixth, when they finally persevered with a two-run salvo to win 6-5.
Perseverance at the plate was one of the hallmarks of this year’s Lady Rebel offense. From the experience-laden middle of the lineup, consisting of seniors Clarissa Gonzalez, Brayden Pinckard and Gabi Albarez, to the youthful talent of freshman Karina Rocha, sophomores Maddy Shannon, Haleigh Madden and junior Addie Vayas, to the situational hitting prowess of junior Sarah Leal, every batter in the lineup made a difference on the field. The stats tell as much.
Going into the tournament, five batters in the Hays lineup were hitting above a .400 average. Of the nine regular starters, none hit below a .330 average. Hays was as consistent as it gets at the plate.
The team was even more consistent on defense. Rarely did the Lady Rebels falter. Fans will forever remember the heroics of the outfield. The group of seniors made the big plays when most needed, diving for catches and making remarkable snags to keep runners from scoring. Fans will remember the heroics of Traci Green, who saved the Lady Rebels with two remarkable leaping grabs in the first game against Moody.
The solid play of the infield also made a huge difference on the season. Their willingness to make the tough plays in key situations, keeping the ball in front of them paid dividends in the latter part of the season.
“[Coach Fuller] tells us to make the routine plays, to take things one pitch at a time,” Shannon said. “That’s all we can do.”
The confidence of the defense was propagated by the strength of Leal. Her quiet resolution in the circle spoke volumes for the team. Leal understood her role, yet never failed to get the job done. Even when she faced difficult circumstances, whether it was runners in scoring position, the game on the line or just extreme fatigue, she always got the team out of the inning.
None more evident than midway through game three of the Moody series, when it seemed Leal could go no further.
“I asked her, ‘how do you feel,’ and she said, ‘I feel fine,” Fuller said. “When you have a player that tells you ‘I want the ball’, you don’t take the ball out of their hands.”
“I told myself that I was going to get through this. I knew that I could get through this,” Leal said after the Moody series. “I just remember my mechanics; big step, big push, long stride. I knew that if I could do that, I was going to be perfectly fine.”
All of these attributes led to the Lady Rebels’ astounding rally in the bottom of the sixth of game three against Moody. These same attributes helped the Lady Rebels win a back-and-forth affair with Leander in the regional final.
Most of all, everything the team had learned played a mitigating role in the dramatic 11-8 victory over Lucas Lovejoy. Hays remembered the Leander game, fueling the want to go back and forth with Lovejoy. They remembered the late game rally in game three of the Moody series, helping them score three runs in the top of the seventh on Saturday.
Most of all, they remembered the devastating feeling after the game two defeat to Moody. It brought a desire to win.
Fuller and his team have made history; they become the first state champions at Hays in the modern era. They also become the first team in the Austin area to win a state title in softball.
All because they took things one pitch, one inning, one game at a time.