Looking4number8
02-16-2009, 01:39 PM
Lady Lions seek fifth straight trip to playoffs
Brownwood, under new head coach Rex Cook, begins season Thursday at Abilene tourney
By Derrick Stuckly-Brownwood Bulletin
Published: Sunday, February 15, 2009 5:58 PM CST
The Brownwood Lady Lions are seeking their fifth straight postseason appearance, and Rex Cook is looking to become the third head coach to lead them to the playoffs during that span as softball season begins later this week.
The Lady Lions, who return a solid nucleus from last year’s 22-14 bi-district finalist squad, will start their season Thursday when they take part in the Abilene tournament. Though Brownwood has reached the postseason the last four years, the Lady Lions haven’t got out of the first round since 2006, a trend Cook and company hope to change this spring.
“We’ve got a really good group of girls, very talented, very hard working, from the seniors down to the freshmen,” said Cook, who takes over the Lady Lions after coaching for a year each at Class A Cross Roads and North Zulch and three seasons at Class 2A Moody. “To walk into a program that has as much tradition as this is a little overwhelming at first. But I’ve got to know the kids and I’ve stepped in and enjoyed this. I think they’re going to carry on right where they left off. We’re going to try and build a little bit, but we aren’t going to change much, just tweak what we have to.” Among the key returnees for the Lady Lions are pitchers Sayla Parsons and Kate Atchley, both first-team 16-4A all-district selections a year ago who split time in the circle.
Parsons was 11-4 with a 1.41 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 84.2 innings in regular season action, while Atchley posted an 11-7 record with a 2.72 ERA with 116 strikeouts in 92.2 innings.
Cook stated he will continue rotating the pitchers in the early portion of the season in an attempt to determine how to best utilize the duo once district begins.
“We’re going to rotate them in games and tournaments during the first part of the season until I get to know them and see them a little more,” Cook said. “I’ll make my determination come district if I’m going to go with one and the other backing up, or what exactly I’m going to do.”
Offensively, Cook is counting on the power the Lady Lions lineup possesses to produce runs this season.
“I have a place in there for small ball, but I’m kind of old school and like the long ball,” Cook said. “I like to teach the girls to swing and hit the ball hard in the gap and look for the fence. That’s what we’re trying to do and hopefully we can get their swings into that kind of pattern. Most of them are there already from what I’ve seen in the batting cages. They have it, they’re just not using it that way.
“Obviously we’ll do what any school does and try and put one or two runs up quick using small ball and our hitters on top of that. Then we’ll go from there.”
Among the key contributors returning from last year’s offense, which batted .305 and averaged 5.5 runs a game during the regular season, are first-team all-district selection Kerri Jones, second-team all-district pick Alex Williams and Atchley.
Jones batted a team-high .492 with two home runs and 15 RBIs, Williams led the team with four homers and 26 RBIs to go along with a .333 batting average and Atchley batted .359 with 15 RBIs.
Seeing the Lady Lions fully realize their power potential is one of Cook’s main objectives during an early season schedule that features games against Bangs, San Angelo Lake View, Big Spring, Kennedale and Marble Falls, along with tournament appearances at Breckenridge and Snyder.
“I want to see cohesiveness as a team and I also want to see that they can play the long ball game,” Cook said. “We’ve turned them loose in some situations to bunt, but I want to see them hit the long ball. We also want to be aggressive on the bases right now and see who can get where they need to the fastest and who I can trust to make that move if I put the steal sign on in a tough situation.”
Brownwood will also start the season at full strength, which looked to be in jeopardy for a while as the Lady Lions basketball team made a charge toward the playoffs. But Cook is looking forward to being able to use all his weapons from the get-go.
“We were pretty good as it was, but this is going to be a very big boost,” Cook said. “We scrimmaged Aledo, the 4A state champion last year, without them and lost just 4-0 with three unearned runs. The girls coming over from basketball will make our defense more like a brick wall, and that will help us compete at a very high level, especially dropping down from Class 4A to 3A.”
As far as the District 2-3A play is concerned, the level of competition will take a step up despite the drop in classification. After four straight seasons of finishing as district runner-up to Midway in what was otherwise a weak district, Brownwood finds itself in a league with five teams that made the playoffs a year ago.
Abilene Wylie won its district and reached the second round due to a bye, while third seeds Snyder and Graham advanced to the regional quarterfinals. Breckenridge was also a third seed, and was eliminated in the opening round. Only Sweetwater did not make the postseason in 2008.
“Five of the teams in the district went to the playoffs last year, so there are going to be a couple of teams that aren’t going to be happy,” Cook said. “We plan on being very happy.”
Brownwood, under new head coach Rex Cook, begins season Thursday at Abilene tourney
By Derrick Stuckly-Brownwood Bulletin
Published: Sunday, February 15, 2009 5:58 PM CST
The Brownwood Lady Lions are seeking their fifth straight postseason appearance, and Rex Cook is looking to become the third head coach to lead them to the playoffs during that span as softball season begins later this week.
The Lady Lions, who return a solid nucleus from last year’s 22-14 bi-district finalist squad, will start their season Thursday when they take part in the Abilene tournament. Though Brownwood has reached the postseason the last four years, the Lady Lions haven’t got out of the first round since 2006, a trend Cook and company hope to change this spring.
“We’ve got a really good group of girls, very talented, very hard working, from the seniors down to the freshmen,” said Cook, who takes over the Lady Lions after coaching for a year each at Class A Cross Roads and North Zulch and three seasons at Class 2A Moody. “To walk into a program that has as much tradition as this is a little overwhelming at first. But I’ve got to know the kids and I’ve stepped in and enjoyed this. I think they’re going to carry on right where they left off. We’re going to try and build a little bit, but we aren’t going to change much, just tweak what we have to.” Among the key returnees for the Lady Lions are pitchers Sayla Parsons and Kate Atchley, both first-team 16-4A all-district selections a year ago who split time in the circle.
Parsons was 11-4 with a 1.41 ERA and 84 strikeouts in 84.2 innings in regular season action, while Atchley posted an 11-7 record with a 2.72 ERA with 116 strikeouts in 92.2 innings.
Cook stated he will continue rotating the pitchers in the early portion of the season in an attempt to determine how to best utilize the duo once district begins.
“We’re going to rotate them in games and tournaments during the first part of the season until I get to know them and see them a little more,” Cook said. “I’ll make my determination come district if I’m going to go with one and the other backing up, or what exactly I’m going to do.”
Offensively, Cook is counting on the power the Lady Lions lineup possesses to produce runs this season.
“I have a place in there for small ball, but I’m kind of old school and like the long ball,” Cook said. “I like to teach the girls to swing and hit the ball hard in the gap and look for the fence. That’s what we’re trying to do and hopefully we can get their swings into that kind of pattern. Most of them are there already from what I’ve seen in the batting cages. They have it, they’re just not using it that way.
“Obviously we’ll do what any school does and try and put one or two runs up quick using small ball and our hitters on top of that. Then we’ll go from there.”
Among the key contributors returning from last year’s offense, which batted .305 and averaged 5.5 runs a game during the regular season, are first-team all-district selection Kerri Jones, second-team all-district pick Alex Williams and Atchley.
Jones batted a team-high .492 with two home runs and 15 RBIs, Williams led the team with four homers and 26 RBIs to go along with a .333 batting average and Atchley batted .359 with 15 RBIs.
Seeing the Lady Lions fully realize their power potential is one of Cook’s main objectives during an early season schedule that features games against Bangs, San Angelo Lake View, Big Spring, Kennedale and Marble Falls, along with tournament appearances at Breckenridge and Snyder.
“I want to see cohesiveness as a team and I also want to see that they can play the long ball game,” Cook said. “We’ve turned them loose in some situations to bunt, but I want to see them hit the long ball. We also want to be aggressive on the bases right now and see who can get where they need to the fastest and who I can trust to make that move if I put the steal sign on in a tough situation.”
Brownwood will also start the season at full strength, which looked to be in jeopardy for a while as the Lady Lions basketball team made a charge toward the playoffs. But Cook is looking forward to being able to use all his weapons from the get-go.
“We were pretty good as it was, but this is going to be a very big boost,” Cook said. “We scrimmaged Aledo, the 4A state champion last year, without them and lost just 4-0 with three unearned runs. The girls coming over from basketball will make our defense more like a brick wall, and that will help us compete at a very high level, especially dropping down from Class 4A to 3A.”
As far as the District 2-3A play is concerned, the level of competition will take a step up despite the drop in classification. After four straight seasons of finishing as district runner-up to Midway in what was otherwise a weak district, Brownwood finds itself in a league with five teams that made the playoffs a year ago.
Abilene Wylie won its district and reached the second round due to a bye, while third seeds Snyder and Graham advanced to the regional quarterfinals. Breckenridge was also a third seed, and was eliminated in the opening round. Only Sweetwater did not make the postseason in 2008.
“Five of the teams in the district went to the playoffs last year, so there are going to be a couple of teams that aren’t going to be happy,” Cook said. “We plan on being very happy.”