The #9 Kennedale LadyKats (19-2) are back in a familiar place, playing in the region semifinals, this time against the #5 Fort Stockton (26-4) winners over Sweetwater last week in two games.There are only 16 teams left in Class 4A playoffs.
The Kennedale/Ft Stockton series starts Friday night at San Angelo State University {{more}}beginning at 7 pm. Game 2 will be Saturday at 1:30 in San Angelo and Game 3, if needed, will follow.
map directions from Kennedale to Fort Stockton Estimated travel time via I-20 is 3:40 minute
w/o traffic delays. Total distance is 256 miles one way.
The Fort Stockton Prowlers downed Andrews 8-7 to win the quarterfinal series 2-0 last week. In the first game on Friday night Ft Stockton won 9-0. For Fort Stockton this is one of their best seasons ever and they are determined to continue it as far as possible.
For Kennedale, it is a chance to get back to the regional finals and a possible date in Austin. Kennedale is a staple in the playoffs with 21 appearances. Seven times they have qualified for region and have earned a trip to Austin and the state final four 3 times.Twice in the last three years, the LadyKats have made the region finals. Last year, the Kats dropped a early area round decision against Lampasas. But in 2012 Kennedale beat Pampa in a 2 game sweep in the region semifinals but lost to West 5-4 in the region finals. In 2013, Kennedale beat Andrews in the semifinals in a 2 game sweep and then lost to Burkburnett in a 13 inning epic, 3-0.
Been there before (l-r) Rebekah Abair, Elisabeth Schiele, Allie Turner and Jazyln Crowder (photos
JMalone)
This will be a first for Head Coach Chris Reue (Roy) who only has 2 losses in his rookie season. But he has some players who have been there before. On the 2013 region qualifying team are senior starters, Allie Turner, Jazlyn Crowder and Rebekah Abair, along with junior Elizabeth Schiele.
KHS Softball Coaches (l-r) Chris Reue, Katrina Pytel and Derek Lopez (photos JMalone)
For Coach Reue, it is playing the unknown. Because of distance, teams from the metroplex don?t often get a chance to see or play against west Texas teams. He said he knows only what he has read and heard from other coaches. He knows that they (Ft Stockton) have a couple of big hitters but he doesn?t know much more.
What is for sure is that if a team has reached this level in the playoff, the team is good. This includes the 2015 Kennedale LadyKats.
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