At the Katy Invitational on Thursday, GRHS Varsity softball came up short despite Alexis Tovar‘s gem, losing 1-0 to Cy Woods. Tovar allowed just one run, but the Longhorns couldn’t get the offense going. Alexis baffled Cy Woods, striking out seven batters, allowing one earned run on three hits, and giving up only one walk over six innings. Next, the Longhorns and Pollock Central played to a 6-6 tie. Lupita Nowak was solid at the plate for George Ranch. Nowak went 2-3, drove in one and scored two runs. She doubled in the first inning and singled in the third inning. The bottom of the first saw the Longhorns take an early lead, 3- 0. Kayte Martinez singled to ignite the Longhorns’ offense. An error then moved Martinez from first to second. Nowak doubled, plating Martinez. George Ranch pushed more runs across when Alyssa Curts scored on an RBI single by Madison McDonald, and Nowak scored on a groundout by London Diller. In the final game for the day, the Longhorns and Seven Lakes exchanged the lead four times. The Longhorns ended up on top with an 11-7 win in five innings. George Ranch took the lead in the fifth inning and held on for the victory. A steal of home by Sydney Scott gave George Ranch the lead for good. Brianna Dixson did her best to jumpstart the offense for the Longhorns, reaching base three times. She scored two runs and had one RBI. She tripled in the fifth inning. Alexis Tovar looked sharp on the mound. Tovar held Seven Lakes hitless over 3 innings, allowed no earned runs, walked one and struck out one. George Ranch jumped out to an early 3-0 lead in the top of the first. The Longhorns’ threat began with a single by Alyssa Curts. Lupita Nowak singled, scoring Kayte Martinez. The scoreboard lit up again for George Ranch when Curts scored on a wild pitch, and Natasha Cabucio scored on a groundout by Emily Rimes. The lead was the Longhorns’ to lose after fifth inning. More late runs came from hits by Rimes and Stephanie Money.
On Saturday, Madison McDonald knocked in three runs, helping the Longhorns to a 6-1 victory over Jersey Village continuing play in the Katy Invitational. McDonald homered in the fifth inning. Jersey Village couldn’t get anything going as long as London Diller was on the hill. Diller gave up just one hit, allowed no earned runs, walked none and struck out four during her four innings of work. GRHS went up for good in the third, scoring two runs on an RBI double by Alyssa Curts and a sacrifice fly by McDonald. In the fourth, the Longhorns scored on a two-run homerun by Brianna Dixson, scoring Lupita Nowak. Also on Saturday, Klein was unable to fight back from the big hole it dug itself into against the Longhorns, and GRHS won the game 3-2. Klein couldn’t get anything going as long as Alexis Tovar was pitching. Tovar gave up just one hit, allowed no earned runs, walked one and struck out five during her three innings of work. The bottom of the first saw the Longhorns take an early lead, 1-0. A single by Madison McDonald, plating Kayte Martinez, started the inning. Also contributing to the offensive surge during the game were Stephanie Money, Alexis Tovar, Alyssa Curts and Natasha Cabucio. In the final game of the weekend, George Ranch lost 2-1 in six innings despite outhitting Mayde Creek seven to four. Natasha Cabucio boosted her batting average going 2-3 at the plate to pace the Longhorns. She singled in the second and sixth innings. Stephanie Money, Emily Rimes and Madison McDonald all contributed to the offense. On the mound, McDonald baffled Mayde Creek, striking out five batters. She allowed one earned run on four hits and one walk over five innings.