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The Columbus Lady Cardinals hosted a softball tournament last week where they were able to get five more games under their belt before their first district game.
The Lady Cards played Gonzales, Bellville, East Bernard, Fort Bend Dulles and Ganado all on their home field to get ready for the upcoming district stretch.
The Lady Cards posted a 2-3 record at the tournament, but it was in every game that they lost. In all three of the games, they lost the Lady Cards were only one or two swings of the bat away from tying things up and forcing extra innings.
They played outstanding on offense in the first game against Gonzales, but their offense lost a little bit of steam as the game wore on. That left the door wide open for Gonzales to close things out and hand the Lady Cards their first loss of the tournament.
In game two the Lady Cards’ offense struggled to get their footing against Bellville. Though Bellville’s offense also struggled to find success, the defenses for both teams stole the show.
Pitching-wise, the Lady Cards had a few pitches get away from them, and Bellville was able to get some runs on the board because of it and it was ultimately the Lady Cards’ downfall in game two. While two losses to start the tournament are tough pills to swallow the Lady Cards stayed determined and came into game three looking to pick up a win.
Game three was again another struggle for the offense to get going and the defense tripped a little. East Bernard did not do anything flashy they just executed their gameplan and played lock down defense after getting an early lead.
But something after this game flipped for the Lady Cards and their bats started to heat up.
The Lady Cards unloaded their offense against Fort Bend Dulles after being stymied all tournament long. They racked up 12 runs in game four of the tournament but in addition to that they continued to play lock down defense and held Fort Bend Dulles to only 2 runs.
The Lady Cards entered their last game of the tournament with a newfound swagger and confidence against Ganado. Ganado played well during the tournament and only had one loss heading into this game and wanted to walk away with a 3-1 record.
The Lady Cards, being the host of the tournament wanted to end things on a high note and send the fans home happy. The Lady Cards and Ganado was perhaps the game of the tournament because it had everything to be an instant classic.
There was competitiveness, aggression, frustration, excitement and even nervousness in the air. Both teams gave everything they had in this game, and it came down to the wire and when the smoke cleared the Lady Cards were standing victorious.
With the tournament behind the Lady Cards, look ahead to their next game, which is against the defending State Champion Weimar Ladycats on Tuesday, Feb. 20, in Weimar.
