KATY, Texas - The Lady Knights softball team opened the 2020 softball season on the road on a beauiful, albeit colder, day and while the results weren't to their liking, as they fell to the Faith West Academy Eagles 22-2 in five innings, the excitement generated by the team was a pleasure to see.
With temperatures hovering in the mid-50s at the start of the game and a fair number of first-time players, the Lady Knights were looking to a strong start fight the battle of the elements and discouragment but a pair of strike outs followed by a walk and a groundout changed that hope.
The Eagles were able to boost their hopes in the bottom of the first inning as a hit batter, a walk and another hit batter loaded the bases. Faith West scored the first run on passed ball and then doubled the score on a fielders choice ground ball that did not result in an out.
The Knights steadied the ship with a strikeout but an error, another walk, and the third hit batter of the inning reloaded the bases. A fielder's choice grounder to third base and a popup to short stop ended the bottom of the first and limited the damage to five runs but was indicative of how the first two innings of the game would go. The Eagles were able to build a 10-run lead with only one ball leaving the infield on a hit.
Hill Country had its most exciting and productive innings of the game in the third and fourth as the Knights scored a run in their half of each frame.
After two ground outs to the secondbaseman began the third, Hill Country staged a two-out rally via a walk, a single, another walk and a fielder's choice ground ball that should have ended the inning but got past the catcher and lead to an unearned run.
The fourth oppened with the excitment of a base runner earning her way on by being hit by the pitch and then quickly stealing second and third base on the next to pitches. Two strike outs seemed to end the excitment but it was reignighted by a double that landed just inside the foulline on the first base side and drove home the run.
The game got away from the Lady Knights in the bottom of the fourth, as fatigue and inexperience led to 11 walks and four hit batters in the inning.