By EJ Holland
Both Southlake Carroll baseball and softball are poised tobrmake it to the playoffs once again this season.
Baseball Head Coach Larry Hughes and softball Head Coach TimbrStuewe have done terrific jobs of establishing powerful programs that havebrgarnered statewide attention for their recent success.
Stuewe and his softball team won an outright district titlebrlast season and advanced to the second round of the playoffs. While this seasonbrstarted off on a rocky ride, the Dragons have weathered the storms of April andbrfind themselves peaking at the right time.
Southlake's favorite softball team is currently 16-10broverall and sits in second place behind Hurst L.D. Bell in the District 7-6Abrstanding with four games remaining. The Dragons are two games ahead of thirdbrplace Richland and three games ahead of fourth place Colleyville Heritage.
“The season overall has been pretty successful,” Stuewe says.br“We've played really well at times. There have also been times where we haven'tbrplayed that well. Lately, we've been doing what we need to do to win ballbrgames. And that's what you need to do this time of year.”
Southlake Carroll had a bit of a bumpy ride to open thebrseason. The Dragons lost three of their first four games of the year. Theirbrlone win was a 6-1 handling of Conroe to open up the Bryan/College StationbrTournament.
The Dragons would go on to split their next four games inbrthe tournament as they picked up wins over Timber Creek and Huntsville butbrlogged losses to Rusk and Pearland.
Southlake Carroll found some momentum as it destroyedbrProsper 17-0 and dominated Lake Dallas 12-2 to open up the Southlake tournament.brThe Dragons picked up another win in the tourney over Creekview but werebreliminated after a 2-1 loss to Hallsville.
The non-district slate came to a close with the Prosper tournament,brwhich saw the Dragons pick up wins over Dallas Sunset and Mount Vernon beforebrdropping two in a row to John Paul II and Prosper.
“We tried to schedule some tough non-district teams in orderbrto get ready for district and playoffs,” Stuewe says. “We wanted to facebrtougher pitching because we know sooner or later that's going to come up. Webrwanted to be prepared. We're always trying to make ourselves.”
Southlake Carroll's losing streak extended into districtbrplay as it fell to Coppell and Richland by a combined two runs. But then thingsbrjust started to fall into place for the Dragons.
After a 15-1 trouncing of Euless Trinity, Southlake Carrollbrwent on to knock off Colleyville Heritage, Haltom and LD Bell and even gotbrrevenge victories over both Coppell and Richland.
“All along, we've been telling the team that we control ourbrown destiny,” Stuewe says. “Any team that can control what they have to do isbrin a pretty good place. The softball gods just weren't with us. That's how thisbrgame works at times. But we're just taking it one game at a time and makingbrsure we're ready for our next game.”
So what changed for the Dragons as they caught fire andbrbegan a six-game winning streak?
“I think we are playing more solid defense,” Stuewe says.br“We are not making mistakes there. We are hitting the ball better. We'rebrputting the ball in play and forcing the other team to make plays. We're justbrgiving ourselves a chance.”
Stuewe also gave credit to his seniors for providingbrleadership when Southlake Carroll needed it the most. Courtney Manning,brMcKenzie Schneider, Emilia Egel and Christina Hill have all played importantbrroles as the Dragons have outscored their opponents by a five-run averagebrduring their streak.
The play of sophomores Abigail Stuart, who leads the teambrwith half a dozen homeruns and Avery Zeigler as well as freshmen Lauren Long,brGaby Garcia and Madison Cashon have also bolstered the Dragons.
“It's all about peaking at the right time. I've seen ourbrplaying level pick up as we get closer to playoffs,” Stuewe says. “A lot ofbrthat does have to do with peaking at the right time. The other thing is matchups.
“Once you get in the playoffs, every game is tough. If webrget hot at the right time, we can make a deep run. If we stay focused, we canbrgo a long way.”
On the baseball diamond, Larry Hughes' team sits at 16-6-1broverall but is peaking at the right time just like its softball counterpart.brThe Dragons have won four district games in a row and currently are in thirdbrplace behind Coppell and Colleyville Heritage.
The Dragons are averaging close to six runs per game and arebrgiving up an average of less than two runs per game. Simply put, SouthlakebrCarroll has played excellent defense throughout the season and has exceledbrbehind the arm of ace pitcher Matthew Canterino, who recently notched 14brstrikeouts in a victory over Richland.
With four games left in the season, the Dragons need tobrimprove offensively. It is imperative for guys like Zach Farrar, who isbrcommitted to Oklahoma for both football and baseball, Hudson Sanchez and EricbrCole to continue to step up with their bats.
“As a senior, I think it's important for me to lead,” Farrarbrsays. “You have to lead vocally but also by example. I've been getting on basebra lot, but I feel like I really need to hit some homeruns. That will in turnbrhelp the team.”
Last year saw the Dragons make it three rounds deep in thebrplayoffs, but Farrar says this team has the potential to make an even deeperbrrun.
“We're coming together at the right time,” he says. “We justbrhave to keep it. We've bonded together as a team. It's all about going tobrpractice and working hard and making sure we're all on the same page.”
Both baseball and softball are in line to advance to thebrplayoffs and possibly make some noise. The two squads are playing their bestbrball of the year and have yet to reach their full potential.
When they do, they will be a scary sight for opponents inbrthe postseason.