There was only one team remaining from CFISD in the softball playoffs last week: our very own Lady Mustangs. They had been quietly putting together one of the best seasons in school history. The excellent Coach Mueller along with every single player has helped make this team into one of the best in the district yet again this year.

While they were one of the best with a 14-3 district record, they were unable to take down an undefeated Cy Woods team in either meeting (2-0, 1-0). That led them to a second place finish, but it seems that hunger to be the best propelled them through the first few rounds of the playoffs.

Our girls opened their playoff run with a game against an underwhelming Nimitz team. Senior Hannah Broseman and junior Ashley Koncir combined to pitch a one-hit shutout on the way to an easy 14-0 win. A big contributor to the run total was sophomore Sami Villereal, who hit her first home run of the year and added five RBIs off of three hits.

Their second round opponent would be a bit tougher as they had to take on a 16-4 Bellaire team in a best-of-three series. Bellaire was coming off of a 2-0 series win over Cinco Ranch in the first round.

On Friday, May 6, Bellaire continued to stay hot as they quieted the Mustang bats and only allowed two runs. It didn’t help that the Cardinals seemed to be hitting everything thrown at them which led to a 12-2 game one win for Bellaire.

Our girls in blue had to prepare themselves overnight for a do-or-die game two on Saturday afternoon. The two teams kept it close in the early going, with the score being 1-1 after two innings played. Then, the Mustang bats came alive as the girls scored three runs in the third inning and four runs in the fourth. This domination continued into the fifth and six innings as the Mustangs’ lead stretched to 14-4 which gave the girls a mercy rule win.

Everyone pitched in for the win as the Mustang lineup had 19 hits which resulted in a .576 batting average. In those 19 hits, we saw sophomore Catherine Crenek earn her first home run of the season. Pitcher Ashley Koncir helped out the team by not giving up an earned run and only giving up five hits in six innings of work.

Momentum stayed with the girls for game three as they never trailed in a 6-3 win over Bellaire that sent them to the regional quarterfinal. Junior Tori Alvarez-Lopez made sure to keep the home run streak alive and Hannah Broseman gave up just one run and struck out 13 in a complete game showing.

With the win, the team then had to face the former softball state champions, the Katy Tigers. This would be another tough three game set for the Mustangs as they would have to take on a 25-8 Tigers team who went undefeated in Katy ISD. Coming into this game, Katy was 3-2 against CFISD teams with a win against Cy Falls and a 2-2 split with Cy Fair.

In game one, both teams’ bats were quiet early as each team only had one run through three innings. Ranch got theirs via a Maddie Godnich RBI. Then, the Katy bats awakened to the tune of four straight runs, and heading into the bottom of the sixth our ‘Stangs trailed 5-1. Sophomores Jordyn Smith and Bryce West knocked two more runs in to give fans some hope, but the rally unfortunately ended there. Hannah Broseman came in and struck out the side which gave the girls one last chance to come back. Katy’s pitching staff was able to hold off the Mustangs and earn a game one win, 5-3.

Game two was more of a pitcher’s duel. It was a low scoring game all throughout as Hannah Broseman dominated inside the circle. In the end though, Katy was able to take down the Mustangs 2-0 to end the girl’s season in the regional quarterfinals.

It was another fantastic season from our softball program as Coach Mueller once again put together a playoff team full of talented girls.

“I’m proud of these kids,” Mueller said. “They competed against a great team. That was a great ball game. They fought to end and never gave up.”

Coach Mueller explained that the four seniors, Maddie Godnich, Sophia Godnich, Hannah Broseman, and Julissa Trevino, “were great leaders and they’re going to be hugely missed next year.”

Over the past four years, the seniors have allowed Mustang softball to take great strides. Outfielder Maddie Godnich posted a career .300 batting average, 26 RBIs and 89 runs over 95 games. Her twin sister, Sophia, had a .311 batting average, 18 RBIs and 43 stolen bases over 95 games. First baseman and Boston College commit Julissa Trevino had a .279 career batting average to go with 11 home runs and 88 RBIs over 114 games. Texas Tech commit Hannah Broseman pitched 328.2 innings for 38 wins and had a career ERA of 1.53. She also struck out 519 as opponents had a .171 batting average against her.

It’s hard to measure in statistical categories just how large of a contribution these girls gave to the team. They will always be remembered and thanked for bringing a large amount of excitement to the Cy Ranch softball diamond.