Congratulations to the 5 Highlanders who made the Courier’s All-County Team!

1st Team

Skylar Sirdashney – 3B

Skylar Stockton – OF

Kayla Falterman – OF

2nd Team

Avery Taylor – P

Abby Jones – SS

SOFTBALL: Splendora pitcher Millican is The Courier’s Player of the Year

Defensive Player of the Year:  Skylar Sirdashney

1st Team:  Kayla Falterman, Abby Jones, Skylar Stockton and Avery Taylor

2nd Team:  Katie Emberton, Jordan Neely and Abbey Newlun

Honorable Mention:  Carly Allen, Amanda Curran, Haley Mountain and Angela Wang 

SOFTBALL: Sirdashney, Cobb earn superlatives in District 15-6A

SOFTBALL: Who should be The Courier’s Newcomer of the Year?

Game 1:  Thursday, 6:30 at Grand Oaks (Home)

Game 2:  Friday, 5:00 at Grand Oaks (Visitor)

Game 3 (if needed):  Saturday, 11:00 at Grand Oaks (coin flip)

All tickets are $5 and times are subject to change based on the weather

The Woodlands completed a bi-district sweep of Dekaney with a 10-0 win in five innings Thursday night at Grand Oaks High School.

The Lady Highlanders outscored the Lady Wildcats 23-0 in their two wins and won by fifth-inning run rule in both outings.

The win didn’t just kick off the postseason for The Woodlands. It also marked an important return to the field.

Tennessee signee Amanda Curran, who injured her non-throwing wrist in an early March game, returned to action in the first round series.

Curran, still sporting a brace under her glove, pitched two innings of relief Wednesday night, then started and pitched four innings Thursday. Altogether, the senior allowed two hits, struck out 10 batters and walked one.

“It’s awesome,” Curran said. “It feels great and back-to-normal. I’m definitely myself again.”

The return also meant a return to the ‘blueprint for success’ Borths said the team had all along: a split circle between Curran and Avery Taylor, who carried the load for 10 games while Curran was out.

Taylor pitched four innings in the bi-district series. She struck out seven, walked two and didn’t allow a hit.

“Avery picked up a lot of the work,” Curran said of her time on the sideline. “She did amazing and I’m so proud of her. Basically, throughout the rest of the playoffs it’s just her and me. It’s just whoever’s on. We have each other’s back the whole way. It’s going to be a good ride.”

On Thursday, the Lady Highlanders steadily built their lead beginning in the second inning. Katie Emberton kicked things off with a 2-run home run that plated Skylar Stockton.

Emberton was 2-for-2 with a home run, a triple, three RBIs and an intentional walk.

“Going into today, I was really confident in my hitting,” Emberton said. “I’ve been working really hard on driving pitches and she laid it down the middle.”

The Woodlands lead grew to 5-0 in the bottom of the third. Skylar Sirdashney’s hard grounder led to an error that brought Haley Mountain and Kayla Falterman home. Sirdashney later scored on a Jordan Neely single.

Two more Lady Highlanders came home in the bottom of the fourth. Angela Wang came around from first after a throw on Mountain’s bunt made its way into right field. Mountain was plated by an Abby Jones groundout.

In the bottom of the fifth, The Woodlands got the three runs it needed to force the run rule. Emberton’s triple scored Stockton, then Neely’s double brought courtesy runner Ariel Gomez home. Pinch hitter Madison Martinez hit a single to bring Neely, the 10th run, home.

In the Region II-6A area round, The Woodlands will take on either Cypress Ranch or Leander. With Curran back, the Lady Highlanders are playing at full strength for the first time in over a month.

“Cy-Ranch and Leander are both very good ball clubs,” Borths said. “Very tough, well-disciplined and well-coached. It’s going to be a battle in this next round. Having Amanda available is going to be key.”

SOFTBALL: The Woodlands completes sweep of Dekaney

Looking at the weather forecast and our need to get games in before Saturday because of prom, we have decided to move Wednesday and Thursday’s games to Grand Oaks.  Here’s the new plan:
 

Game 1:  Wednesday @ 5:00 at Grand Oaks HS.  Dekaney is the home team and will be in the 3rd base dugout

Game 2:  Thursday @ 6:30 at Grand Oaks HS.  The Woodlands is the home team and will be in the 3rd base dugout

Game 3 (if needed):  Friday @ 6:30 at school determined by coin flip following Game 2.  If Dekaney is not playable, it will be at TWHS assuming it is playable.

*If we don’t play Wednesday, push everything back a day with a double-header on Friday.  Same if Thursday gets cancelled.

The Woodlands wrapped up its regular season with a 13-0 win over Klein Forest in five innings in District 15-6A play Thursday.

The Lady Highlanders (22-5, 14-2) were led by Jordan Neely at the plate. She homered twice and drove in three runs.

The Woodlands got five innings of no-hit pitching from Avery Taylor in the win. Senior Amanda Curran, who has been out with an injury, also took to the field on Senior Night and tossed one pitch for a strike.

The Lady Highlanders are the district’s second seed in the postseason.

SOFTBALL ROUNDUP: Oak Ridge, The Woodlands get multiple-home run efforts in wins

Katie Emberton provided a homer as The Woodlands won its seventh straight District 15-6A contest 9-2 over Conroe Friday night.

Emberton was 2-for-3 with two RBIs. Also for the Lady Highlanders (22-4, 14-1), Kayla Falterman was 2-for-3 (triple) with two RBIs and two runs scored.

Skylar Stockton also had two RBIs while Avery Taylor pitched a complete-game with six strikeouts.

For Conroe (9-18, 1-12), Kennedy Powell and Myranda Lewis each had two hits while Kyara Martinez had an RBI.

The Woodlands plays a non-district game at Deer Park Saturday. Conroe hosts Klein Collins Saturday.

SOFTBALL ROUNDUP: Jordan tosses six no-hit innings for Magnolia

Two of the most decorated softball players in recent years to come out of The Woodlands High School are playing well at their respective colleges in 2019. And they happen to be sisters as well.

Out east, Aubrey Leach is in the middle of her senior season with the Tennessee Lady Vols. And out west, Kelcy Leach is in her sophomore season as Texas Tech.

Aubrey, a 2015 high school graduate, was the Montgomery County Player of the Year to complete her time with the Lady Highlanders.

With Tennessee, Aubrey was a first-team All-SEC selection last year as a junior was also a preseason All-SEC pick entering this year. Leach has started all 37 games (through Tuesday) with the Lady Vols and currently leads the team in batting average at .431 and on-base percentage at .544.

Aubrey has a knack for getting on base with singles as she has just seven extra-base hits (five doubles, two homers) out of 47 hits. She also leads the team in walks with 26 and is an instant threat on base paths as she is 9-for-10 on stolen bases.

As a second baseman, Leach has a .990 fielding percentage and a team-best 53 assists.

Tennessee is 29-8 on the year and striving for the College World Series for the first time since 2015.

Kelcy is batting .257 with six homers (tied for third on the team) and 20 RBIs (fifth on the team).

To cap her career at The Woodlands in 2017, Leach was the Montgomery County Defensive Most Valuable Player. Kelcy is the catcher for the Red Raiders with a fielding percentage of .984 and has 227 put-outs.

Texas Tech is 30-8 and are hoping to make the NCAA Tournament out of the Big 12 for the first time in seven years.

ALUMNI NOTEBOOK: Leach sisters from The Woodlands thriving at respective colleges