The Aubrey Lady Chaps continued their dominant playoff run with a 10-0 win over the Hillsboro Lady Eagles on May 1.
The Lady Chaps controlled every phase of the game and clipped the Lady Eagles’ wings in five innings en route to taking the area championship crown.
“Overall, it was a good team win,” Aubrey head softball coach James Ramsey said. “We did some good things offensively with the bats, and Mya [Cherry] obviously pitched, a great game. … She did a good job of shutting [Hillsboro] down from the circle, and we had a lot of big, timely hits when we needed them to get the runs.”
Aubrey scored its first run in the bottom of the first inning after second baseman Molly Reid hit a line drive single to left field, driving in shortstop Tamia Cherry and putting the Lady Chaps up 1-0.
The Lady Chaps started pouring on the points in the second inning with a fiverun burst sparked by a sacrifi ce fly from Tamia that drove in one.
Sophia Place got home after a wild pitch got away from Hillsboro’s catcher, followed by a triple from Reid that drove another run.
First baseman Judah Van Rijn capped Aubrey’s scoring barrage with a line drive single to center field that put the Lady Chaps up 6-0.
Van Rijn came up aces again for Aubrey, hitting another line drive single to center that drove in two runs in the fourth inning.
The Lady Chaps would go on to add two more runs, taking the win, 10-0, after five innings.
Mya Cherry set the tone for Aubrey’s defense, collecting 11 strikeouts and allowing one hit and no runs.
The game marked the Lady Chaps’ third shutout in a row, and third baseman Carmen Alexander credited Ramsey’s preparation process for helping the team manage in tight situations.
“[Coach Ramsey] really works with us individually, even at our different positions,” she said. “That really benefits us in the long run, especially pushing us on plays that could happen in a game, and that really helps us level up.”
The Lady Chaps won the battle in the batter’s box 12-1, led by Van Rijn, who had two hits and three RBIs.
“It was great to make those kinds of plays in a big game,” Van Rijn said. It's important to step up whenever your team needs you, and I'm grateful that I was able to be that person tonight.”
Reid and left fielder Addison White also added two hits apiece on the night.
Minutes after the win, Ramsey said the Lady Chaps were already focused on their next step.
“Each week is a new week and a new challenge,” he said. 'We know it's going to get more and more diffi cult as we move forward, so we just have to keep working.”
The Lady Chaps were scheduled to start a best-of-three series against the Carthage Lady Bulldogs in the regional semi-finals on Wednesday, with Game 2 scheduled for Friday at 5:30 p.m. and Game 3 following Game 2, if needed. All games will be hosted at Lone Oak High School.
