Lady Bobcats win tournament

The Medina Lady Bobcat softball team defended their home turf to go four-for-four last weekend and earn the championship trophy in the Second Annual Medina Softball Tournament.

“I am beyond proud of what we accomplished this weekend,” said Head Coach Chris Pace. “We played fundamentally sound softball and I’m glad to see our steady improvement.”

Feb. 24’s pool play games saw the Lady Cats defeat Leakey by a score of 14-2 and then La-Pryor 11-1 to earn the number one seed and a first-round bye in Saturday’s championship bracket.

Leading the way for the Lady Cats against Leakey were sophomore Hallie Kunz and senior Charli McCabe with two hits each. Sophomore Brooke Mancha batted in two runs to lead the Lady Cats in RBIs in the contest with a key hit in the final inning.

Sophomore Ahnika Grassie and Kunz aided in the win with three stolen bases each. Sophomore Hattie Barton received the win on the mound with two strikeouts.

In game two, the Lady Cats came out strong and jumped on an early lead over the LaPryor Lady Bulldogs and never lost momentum.

Kunz amassed three hits and three RBIs, with junior Ollie Turner adding two hits. Senior Lizzy Roman-Colon went 2-2 in stolen bases to keep the Lady Bulldog defense on their toes.

Barton again earned the win on the mound, allowing just four hits and striking out four batters.

Saturday’s bracket set the Lady Bobcats up to again face off against Leakey. This time, though, Leakey was prepared to battle and put up a fight before the Lady Cat bats shut down their hopes with a 7-1 victory to advance to the championship game.

Kunz went three for three at the plate, including a two-run homerun to lead the team in RBIs in the contest. Turner and Barton added in an RBI each to help the Lady Cats take control of the game.

Barton was the winning pitcher with six strikeouts. The championship game matched the Lady Cats versus Brooks Collegiate Academy.

Brooks jumped out to an early lead in the game before the Lady Cat bats started popping.

Kunz and junior Kytlin Peterson combined for five of the team’s seven hits in the contest with four RBIs each. Turner scored three runs for the team, while freshman Audrey Gatlin and Kunz added two apiece. Barton completed her winning streak with the pitching win and three strikeouts.

In addition to taking home a championship trophy, Medina also saw Kunz was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.