<body><div><figure><img src="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?type=thumbnail_580x000&amp;url=0hj2WG_0seMQYtz00" alt="https://img.particlenews.com/image.php?url=0hj2WG_0seMQYtz00" width="995" height="560" ><figcaption>A&amp;M Consolidated's Peyton Valentine and head coach Heather Slaton celebrate Valentine's home run against Killeen Shoemaker on Thursday at Shoemaker High School. DENNIS KNOWLTON, KILLEEN DAILY HERALD</figcaption></figure>KILLEEN — Both A&amp;M Consolidated and Killeen Shoemaker softball teams had the opportunity to use the advantage of the drastic wind blowing down right field.It was a Lady Tigers lineup with a good blend of left- and right-handed hitters who used it to their advantage as they coasted to a 17-4 run-rule win over Shoemaker on Thursday in game one of the bi-district round at Shoemaker High School.“We came with a plan and we worked that plan and we were successful and we executed well. We weren’t looking for walks, we were looking to put balls in play hard,” Consol head coach Heather Slaton said.All three of the Lady Tigers' home runs landed over the right-field fence, aiding crooked numbers in five of six innings.For over half of Consol's starting lineup, Thursday marked the group’s first playoff game. The lack of playoff experience didn’t show. Between the four sophomores and one freshman who made a plate appearance, they went a combined 10-for-20 at the plate with two home runs and 10 runs scored.<h2>People are also reading…</h2>“Sometimes that can be a strength, sometimes that can be something that holds us back, and I don’t think you saw [the latter] tonight, I don’t think you saw anybody that didn’t come ready to come to play or anyone that looked like this was too big or that they were starstruck,” Slaton said. “They came in locked, loaded and ready to go.”The sophomore duo of Peyton Valentine and Emma Ford made the most of their plate appearances as they combined for seven hits in eight at-bats, with two home runs and four RBIs.Senior Savannah Coleman was perfect at the plate, going 4-for-4 with three singles, a home run and five RBIs.The Lady Tigers finished with 18 hits. All nine batters collected hits and the top four hitters in the lineup finished with multihit performances.The game didn’t look in hand early as the Lady Tigers only led 6-4 through three innings. Consol (23-5) pitcher Raegan Johnson had success painting the corners of the strike zone and used it to induce weak groundballs.Shoemaker hitters had seven straight at-bats where they had weak groundouts, including four consecutive to second baseman Brooklyn Gidley.“I realized throwing the ball 'on the river', they were chasing it and he was calling it,” she said.Before an out was recorded, Consol notched its first crooked number, with Gidley and Ford both reaching on slow infield grounders. A passed ball scored one and the pitcher didn’t cover the plate, turning into two runs with no one out. Valentine then smacked a screamer over the right-field fence to help set the tone. “The wind was a big factor and all I was thinking was line drive, line drive, line drive, and if it goes out, it goes out and that’s what happened with the first one,” Valentine said.Even Shoemaker's first putout, a flyout, had its consequence as the throw-in was errant as Coleman advanced to third. A double play ended the frame, but Consol had thrown the first haymaker.Shoemaker responded with a single by Taylor McClinton, who swiped second. The wind played a factor again as Kylee Czaplicki skied a fly ball that forced the left fielder from the wall to her original position in the field and fell out of her glove.Grecia Bazaldua put the Lady Grey Wolves on the board with a two-RBI single that snuck past the second baseman and into the outfield.The Lady Tigers responded by batting around the lineup in the third. Ford began the third with a no-doubt home run over the right-field fence to put Consol back up multiple runs.Valentine followed her up, tattooing a ball that ricocheted off the center-field wall as she stood up at second without a throw.Coleman singled, Valentine stole second and Makenna Cline's sacrifice fly scored Coleman.Quinn Zaragoza got in on the fun with an RBI single to score another run as Consol led 6-2.Valentine continued her offensive influx as she recorded her third extra-base hit in four innings with a double that slammed into the center-field wall. She later stole home on a passed ball.Johnson helped her own cause in the fourth as she hit a towering flyball that was caught by the wind but had enough power under it to bang off the top of the tall right-field fence and over.“We’ve been working all year on hitting [opposite-field] shots, getting your bat out early on that inside pitch and looking for those high and low balls,” Johnson said. “We know what we were looking for and today, we came into the game hungry and we knew what we wanted to swing [at].”Back-to-back singles set up Valentine to do more damage. However, she wisely intentionally walked to load the bases in the fifth. Coleman came home on an RBI single between the first and second baseman.Cline hit a two-run double to get near run-rule territory at 13-4 and secure every Lady Tiger with a plate appearance had a hit.Consol scored four more runs in the top of the sixth.Johnson finished her six-inning effort, giving up six hits, two earned runs and striking out three.Game two of the series will be at 6 p.m. Friday at Lady Tiger Field.“When we won the flip, that’s what we wanted. We wanted to be able to play in front of our home crowd Friday night,” Slaton said.A&amp;M Consolidated 17, Killeen Shoemaker 4A&amp;M Consolidated;3;0;3;3:4;4—;17;18;1Killeen Shoemaker;2;0;2;0;0;0—;4;6;4W — Raegan Johnson L — Kylee CzaplickiLeading hitters — A&amp;M CONSOLIDATED— Peyton Valentine: 3-3, 1 HR, 2 2B’s, 4 RBI’s KILLEEN SHOEMAKER— Grecia Bazaldua: 1-2, 1 1B, 3 RBI’s</div></body>

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Consol softball flexes offense in run-rule win over Killeen Shoemaker

KILLEEN — Both A&M Consolidated and Killeen Shoemaker softball teams had the opportunity to use the advantage of the drastic wind blowing down right field. It was a Lady Tigers lineup with a good blend of left- and right-handed hitters who used it to their advantage as they coasted to a 17-4 run-rule win over Shoemaker on Thursday in game one of the bi-district round at Shoemaker High School.

Consol softball flexes offense in run-rule win over Killeen Shoemaker

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