Bastrop too much for Lady Tigers to handle

Bastrop traveled nearly six hours on a school bus only to find out that Morgan City had pushed Thursday’s second-round playoff game back an hour to 6 p.m. The team and the coaches weren’t very happy.
“The field was still pretty wet,” Morgan City coach Tamara Keller said. “It was wet all day, we came out here at noon and it was soaked, so we were trying to give it a little extra time to dry. But we definitely wanted to get the game in today because we know more rain is expected this weekend.”
Bastrop was afraid the delay would break the team’s focus.
But that was hardly the case, because the Lady Rams pounced on the Lady Tigers in the first inning en route to a 7-2 win.
Bastrop opened the game with three straight doubles to grab a 3-0 lead.
“I think (pitcher) Tyler (Hebert) was kind of off, she gets kind of antsy when she first gets into a game,” Keller said. “But props to them, they came out swinging and they hit the ball hard and I don’t think my kids were ready for that kind of power. They did what they were supposed to do and I don’t think my team ever recovered.”
Hebert pitched all seven innings surrendering nine runs (seven earned) on nine hits with seven strikeouts and two walks.
Bastrop’s starting pitcher Kenyshae Beasley kept Morgan City’s big bats in check.
She pitched a complete game allowing just four hits with four unearned runs, two strikeouts and three walks.
“Their hits found holes in our defense while our hits found players,” Keller said. “But they also made some great plays, their centerfielder and third baseman made some outstanding plays so it came down to whose hits found the holes and they definitely hit the ball better than us.”
Beasley was the smallest player on the field.
“She’s my littlest pitcher but she handles business,” Bastrop coach Jennifer Hickman said. “She did an awesome job tonight, except for a couple at-bats she was in total control.”
In the third inning, Morgan City put together some hits to load the bases with one out. Tyler Hebert doubled to score two runs and pull Morgan City within a run for a 3-2 score.
Bastrop (15-19) tacked on another run in the fourth inning to extend the lead to 4-2.
Morgan City (16-11) continued to hit the ball hard but right at Bastrop’s fielders.
The Lady Rams broke the game open in the seventh inning adding three runs with two outs in the inning.
Morgan City went down in order in the bottom of the frame to end the game.
Leading hitters for Morgan City were Hebert and Brandi Ingram with two hits each.
The Lady Tigers left six batters on the base paths.
“My seniors are heartbroken but I just tried to tell them how proud I was of them,” Keller said. “They had a great season but it’s hard for them to see that now.”
--By CORWIN MURRAY