Advosports

SAN MARCOS - They used it to get pumped up, and for Kellan Werner, there was hope that it had a last bit of luck for them.

"We just kind of brought it along," said the senior right fielder for the Lady Brahmas of the little drum they beat on for much the game. "Last series, we brought it along because we felt that we weren't pumped up enough, and we needed something extra. So we were hoping it would give us an extra burst."

But the small toy drum that had been used by the Lady Brahmas to beat their way past Refugio last weekend wasn't the only noisemaker. This time, the parents got in on the act in the form of Thunderstix, blow up toys that create a thundering ruckus when slapped together.

The thing is, none of the players or coaches seemed to know whose idea it was. But Werner had a thought about where the idea came from, and it had something to do with the drum.

"No, I don't, but I'm sure the parents caught on to our drum sticks and they wanted some of their own," she said.

Unfortunately, this season didn't have a happy ending for Hallettsville. The Lady Brahmas season came to an end Thursday night in an extra-inning heart breaker against George West at Bobcat Softball Stadium, as Cherise Klekar and Lady Horns pitcher Maggie Ham traded outs for most of the game.

"It was nerve-wracking, we wanted it really bad, and we never stopped fighting," said junior first baseman Stephanie Butschek of the games later stages. "There was tension definitely.

George West's Maggie Ham pitched all 10 innings, striking out 17 batters and holding the Lady Brahmas to just five hits.

"(Ham) has killer pitches, she has a great rise, she has a great drop, she's an ace and does what she always does," Butschek said.

Klekar, though, was just as dominant for much of the game. She held the Lady Horns to two hits through seven innings before George West started to get to her.

Hallettsville spent most of the game out in front of George West, scoring on the first hit of the game when Timishia North, attempting to take second on a bloop hit to short left, was helped with the Lady Horns' Salina Chapa airmailed her second baseman.

The run would stand for six innings, as Klekar held the Lady Horns in check. But it was an uneasy lead, Butschek said.

"We knew that we had to get more," she said. "You barely can't win games with just one run, we kept trying to get more."

George West would rally back to tie it in the sixth when the Lady Horns catcher, Marley Snider, drove one to the wall in left-center field for a double, then took third when the ball was flubbed by the outfielders. She scored on a sacrifice fly a few batters later.

As the game moved into extra innings, the tension was beginning to mount. Hallettsville had one big chance to win the game. In the ninth, Butschek got a hold of a pitch for a double.

But the chance to score fizzled when a line drive Cherise Klekar hit was caught, and the next two batters failed to get Butschek in, stranding her on third.

"I had faced her three times before, I had seen her some and I knew that I was going to choke up and put all my power into it," Butschek said. "I was just praying, a base hit, something. I knew I had to score, I was ready to run. I definitely thought that I was the winning run."

Added Mikeska: "Six inches one way or another, it's out of her reach, we win the game," he said. "That's the way this game is, it's a game of inches."

George West took advantage of the Lady Brahmas missed opportunity, scoring four runs off Klekar in the top of the 10th inning to go up.

"Once that second run came in, it was kind of heart breaking because it's hard to come back from two," said senior third baseman Lauren Steffek. "I give them credit, they did the job, they got the base hits and got the runs in."

For the Hallettsville players, the loss was bittersweet. They said a lot of people didn't expect them to do this well, and it was disappointing to see it end. But there was a silver lining.

"A lot of people didn't think we were going to make it this far losing the girls we did and how we were playing in the beginning, but we knew we could," Werner said. "We're one big family."

Added Lauren Steffek: "It was a lot more than most of us expected, especially at the beginning of the year. It's a good way to end your senior year. You wish for better, but it wasn't bad."

GW 000 001 000 4 - 5 9 2

HLT 100 00 000 0 - 1 5 2

Maggie Ham and Marley Snider. Cherise Klekar and Lauren Steffek. Highlights: (HLT) Lindsey Steffek 1-5, 2B; Stephanie Butschek 1-3, HBP; Cherise Klekar 9.2 IP, 5 K, 3 BB, 5 R (3 ER).

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