Through the early portion of the league schedule, the Childress softball team is starting to gain major attraction thanks to getting big wins over the two powerhouses that have ran the district the past few years.
The Lady Bobcats opened spring break getting an eye-opening 3-1 home win over Bushland and then capped off the week by run-ruling River Road 11-1 on Wednesday.
With those pair of victories, Childress is off to a 17-1-1 start and are all alone in first place of District 1-3A at 3-0.
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“Getting wins over great programs like Bushland and River Road were huge for us,” Childress head coach Charlsi Bozeman said. “We have leaned on creating chaos this season and the girls are buying into that. We are putting the ball in play and putting stress on the defense. We are making clutch plays and being smart at the plate with patience on top of putting the ball in play. We’re doing whatever it takes to win and taking advantage of opportunities, and we’re more aggressive on the base paths. I think that’s a big reason we’re playing so well.”
The lone loss for the Lady Bobcats came early in the year to Jacksboro, 3-2. Since then, the Childress has won 16 straight games including its first three to open 1-3A. In fact, Childress has only allowed two runs through the first three league contests and has outscored Dalhart, Bushland and River Road by a combined 47-2.
In the Bushland win Monday, Journey Prince hit a solo homer on a 2-for-3 day at the dish and KJ Felton drew a clutch fifth inning walk that plated the go-ahead run. In the victory against River Road, Childress used a seven-run top of third highlighted by a three-run home run from Addi Edmonson.
On top of the key offensive performances, has been the stellar pitching in the circle from Ansley Parr. The junior has been dealing all year and during district play. In a 33-0 blanking of Dalhart, Parr threw a five-inning no-hitter with 12 strikeouts. Against Bushland, Parr was masterful, scattering six hits, allowing one run with 14 strikeouts and in the River Road win, Parr threw another no-hitter with 13 K’s over five innings.
“Ansley is the anchor of our defense because of her pitching in the circle,” Bozeman said. “Bushland is a power hitting team and so is River Road. Ansley and I constantly talk about her working in the zone and always go to the drawing board on how to attack hitters. Kaleigh Ross is such a key piece a catcher and does a great job, so they make a great duo. But, Ansley has worked so hard to be where she is. She played in the summer and in the fall on a travel team to make herself better. You can see how much she’s improved this year and she is way more in control.”
The Lady Bobcats continue district play hosting Canadian at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.