The Aubrey Lady Chaps opened up the postseason, breaking out the brooms and sweeping the Bonham Lady Warriors in a best of three series in the bi-district championship on April 24 and April 25.
The Lady Chaps dominated their opponent in every facet of the game in backto- back games, winning the first 12-0 and the second 9-0.
“We're always trying to push them and find things that we can get better at, so, overall, pretty good job getting done what we needed to get done,” Aubrey head softball coach James Ramsey said. “We lived to see another week of softball.”
Lady Chaps’ shortstop Carmen Alexander started the Aubrey’s parade around the bases in Game 1 with a double to left field that allowed catcher Abby-Lynch Buxton to cross home plate for the first run of the game in the top of the first inning.
Pitcher Mya Cherry drove in the Lady Chaps’ second run with a sacrifice ground out that drove in Molly Reid, followed by Alexander getting home after a passed ball error by the Lady Warriors defense, giving Aubrey a 3-0 lead.
The Lady Chaps went on to score eight more runs unanswered, taking the win 12-0 in Game 1 after five innings of play.
Aubrey continued its dominant play in Game 2, with second baseman Tamia Cherry opening the game with a solo home run to left field, giving the Lady Chaps a 1-0 lead in the bottom of the first inning.
The Lady Chaps would score three more runs in the first inning behind big hits from Alexander, Mya and Judah Van Rijn, extending their lead to 4-0 at the end of the first.
The two teams traded outs for the remaining innings until Aubrey sealed the win with a four-run burst in the bottom of the sixth inning off a triple from Lynch-Buxton that drove in two runs and a home run by Reid that emptied the bases for the 9-0 victory.
The Lady Chaps won the battle in the batter’s box 19-4 in the two games, led by Reid and Lynch-Buxton, who combined for eight hits, eight RBIs and one homerun.
“We have two practices a day, [and] we're always hitting in the mornings,” Lynch-Buxton said. “Coach Ramsey does a really good job preparing us. Before every game, we have more hitting [practice] for an hour and honestly, that really helps.”
Reid said she and her teammates feel extra motivation on offense to help make things easier for their leader in the pitching circle.
“It's all about helping Mya, our pitcher, because we were up 4-0 in our last game, [which] is pretty good, but it wasn’t good enough for us, so we took control and built the lead up to help Mya be as good as she was defensively for us.”
Mya put on a pitching clinic in the series, notching 29 strikeouts and holding Bonham to four hits and 0 runs.
The senior credited the work she put in during practices for her performance in the back-to-back wins.
“We do a lot of stuff behind the scenes,” she said. “Working with Coach [Christine] Billmeier, doing bullpens, spins and then going into the game with the same mindset, that everyone is good and can hit. I make sure that everyone gets the same Mya.”
After dismantling the Lady Warriors, Ramsey emphasized that the Lady Chaps have to stay locked in and continue to improve.
“All week the message was, ‘Don't get complacent and don't relax,’” he said. “We're never going to panic or play tight, but we always want to have a sense of urgency. I don't really care who's a 1 [seed] or a 4 [seed]. That team over there is trying to end your season, so we have to be ready to go. … The best team doesn't always win. It’s who is better that night.”
The Lady Chaps were scheduled to face off with the Hillsboro Lady Eagles in a single elimination matchup at 7 p.m. Thursday at Boswell High School for the area round of the playoffs. The results were not available by press time.
