Without Lindsey McConnell, Colleyville Heritage wouldn’t have been at the state tournament this week.
She allowed just one earned run in three games against Justin Northwest during the regional final to help the team clinch its first state appearance since 1998 and second overall.
On Friday, she went toe to toe with New Braunfels Canyon’s Haley Carmona.
But two runs in the bottom of the sixth helped the Cougarettes end the Panthers’ magical run 2-0 in the UIL Class 5A state semifinals at McCombs Field in Austin.
Heritage ends the season 37-8.
“We put it on our schedule, but getting here was a grind daily for them and for us emotionally and physically. But we wouldn’t trade it. You don’t succeed without doing hard things, you don’t. We did hard things,” CHHS coach Allison Conaway said.
Canyon (32-0) will play No. 1 Montgomery Lake Creek (43-1) in the title game at 1 pm Saturday in Austin. Canyon is the only undefeated team this week at the state tournament. Lake Creek beat Frisco Heritage 9-0 on Friday.
Both pitchers had a perfect game going through three innings.
Carmona (30-0) sent down the Panthers in order on 11 pitches in the top of the first inning. McConnell came out and struck out two batters in the bottom of the frame.
McConnell got two pop flies and a grounder to retire the side in the second.
Carmona managed to throw just six pitches in the top of the third. After the first out in the bottom of the third, McConnell fell behind 3-1 before firing a strike and getting a grounder to Graci Green at third for the second out. Then McConnell fired her fourth strikeout to keep the game scoreless after three.
Both teams got their first hits in the fourth.
Luna Flores hit a one out double and got to third on a sac bunt from Leah Perales, but Carmona got a pop fly to left to keep the go ahead run 60 feet away. Meanwhile McConnell gave up a lead off double to Harley Vestal. Dee Dee Baldwin drew a walk to set up runners on the corners and one out.
McConnell got out of the jam with a pop fly to Leah Perales in left and one to center fielder DeNae Vasquez-Dickson. Nia Sisneros hit a chopper past third for a single in the fifth, but she was later caught in a run down to keep the game scoreless through 4 1/2.
McConnell fired back with a 1-2-3 frame to send it to the sixth.
Myka Riley drew a one out walk before getting out at second on a fielder’s choice by Vasquez-Dickson. However, on the same play, the Canyon infield celebrated the out in the circle, leaving second base open. Vasquez-Dickson took second and rounded the bag as the infielders went back into position.
She hesitated for a second, tried to return to second base, but was tagged out by Carmona for the third out.
Canyon took the lead in the bottom of the sixth on one hit.
Riley Hester drew a lead off walk after falling behind 0-2. Then Vestal drew a walk on four pitches to put runners on second and first and no outs for the Cougarettes. On the next batter, outfielder Markaylee Maldonado hit a pitch to second. With the ball going to her left, the Heritage defender’s first move was to the right. She tried to dive back but the ball went into right and past the right fielder who was playing shallow.
The ball rolled to the wall to plate two runs.
Flores got the cut off and fired the ball to catcher Alexis Perales to tag Maldonado out, who was trying to complete the inside the park homer. Carmona got her fourth and final strikeout to end the game in the seventh.
Carmona allowed two hits and one walk.
McConnell, a junior, ends the season 24-7. She allowed two runs on three hits, three walks and five strikeouts.
“I feel disappointed because that is a beatable team, but they haven’t been beaten so they know how to win. I feel like if we were to go ahead and play a series I think we could take that team down, but that’s just the way the UIL playoffs go,” Conaway said. “You’ve got to show up here and you’ve got to perform and it puts a lot of pressure on your kids. That’s something that I think that we’ve got to work on as we move forward. Just handling those bigger moments a little bit.
“I’ve known a lot of these kids for a long time and I love them to death and I’m proud of them. I’m proud of the Panther Fight Never Dies.”
Heritage finished second in District 7-5A this season and beat Joshua, Brewer, Richland, El Paso Hanks and Northwest before getting to state. This was also the first trip to state for Conaway, who is in her 11th season with the program and 24th overall coaching softball. She also spent 11 years with Haltom.
Conaway graduates six seniors, the Perales twins, Vasquez-Dickson, Sisneros, Karine Morrison and Sophia Shannon. Vasquez-Dickson will continue her career at New Mexico. Leah Perales will go to Navarro College and Alexis Perales will go to Missouri State.
