Carroll softball gambles and loses vs. Plano West

Few should have disagreed with Carroll softball coach Tim Stuewe for the playoff decision he made.

When he talked with Plano West coaches about their Class 6A Region I area series, Stuewe went for and won the one-game scenario instead of playing the series.

Given that Plano West was the deeper team, the Lady Dragons’ best chance to pull the upset was this way. For the first three and a half innings, Carroll had what it wanted.

The Lady Dragons were scoreless and had pulled off two double plays when Plano West baserunners made mistakes. One runner was doubled off first. A second was caught in the rundown between third base and home plate.

However, it didn’t last. Plano West broke through with three runs in the fourth and added two insurance runs in the fifth to pick up a 5-0 win and end Carroll’s season. The Lady Dragons finished 2016 at 22-11.

“With a one-game, you have to have a lot of things go well,” Stuewe said. “Defensively, we made every play we were supposed to make. We just ran into a great pitcher.”

Plano West’s Sierra Lange was as good as advertised and the primary source for Carroll opting for the short series. She shut down Carroll and threw a complete game two-hit shutout and struck out 15 while walking only two. With 21 outs in a seven-inning game, that’s not a lot of work for the fielders. Those other six outs were routine.

Carroll advanced only one runner to second base in McKenzie Schneider in the fourth. Freshman Madison Cashon had the other hit.

Lange has been untouchable through the first two rounds of the postseason. She threw a three-hit shutout in the bi-district series-clinching win over Northwest Byron Nelson.

Carroll senior Cami Green was pretty solid for the first three innings. However, she couldn’t finish the fourth. Plano West scored all three of its runs with two out. Lauren Long pitched the fifth and sixth.

“I told our team that we needed to play a clean game, and we really did,” Stuewe said. “There are two ways you can look at a game like this. You can either say you lost because you didn’t do the things you needed to do, or you can say you just got beat. We just got beat in this one.”

Looking to 2017

Carroll will be moving into the new Class 5-6A with the four Lewisville ISD schools – Flower Mound, Flower Mound Marcus, Lewisville and Lewisville Hebron – along with Byron Nelson, Hurst L.D. Bell and Euless Trinity. The district season will be longer, with 14 games instead of 12.

There will be a nucleus returning in Abigail Stuart, Cashon, Avery Zeigler and Long. Stuewe will be looking for a second arm to complement Long.

“We will be young, but I think it’s going to be a fun journey,” Stuewe said. “It will be a highly competitive district. But that high level will go a long way toward preparing you for the playoffs.”

Notable

Carroll should have three players moving on to play softball in college. First baseman Christina Hill will be playing for North Central Texas College in Gainesville. Shortstop Emilia Egel will be playing at Texas Wesleyan. Schneider is still evaluating options, Stuewe said.

This story was originally published May 9, 2016 at 4:50 PM with the headline "Carroll softball gambles and loses vs. Plano West."