Charger softball has one goal in mind – playoffs

There’s little doubt about what motivates members of the Boerne Champion softball team in 2022 – and it’s how the season ended last year.

Champion went into the last week of the regular season and had to win its last district contest in order to force a three-way tie for two available playoff spots.

If that would have happened, the Chargers would have been in a tiebreaker situation with the other two teams and they would have played it out in a mini-tournament. But a Champion loss in the last game of the year dropped it from playoff contention.

What made it hard to take was that Champion lost that one game by one run in nine innings, 4-3.

“That was tough,” Chargers coach Bethany Holtorf said while reflecting about last season. “We were so close.”

Champion wants to avoid a repeat of last year when it was on the outside looking in and it wants to earn a playoff spot outright.

“We have one goal at a time, and right now it’s to make the playoffs,” Holtorf said.

Champion is off to a good start and is 4-2 in district and closes out the first round this week. It plays 16 district games.

A look at the district

Dripping Springs and NB Canyon are the favorites to win the 26-5A title but Champion did itself a favor and beat Canyon in the district opener, 4-3, after Madison Hall hit a threerun shot in the sixth inning.

“It was a close game the entire time and so much fun. We made plays and they made plays,” Holtorf said. “It was great pitching and great defense, we held down their runs. We were putting the ball in play a lot and we only had four strikeouts.”

Also in the district with Champion, Canyon and Drip is Seguin, Lehman, Buda Johnson, Alamo Heights and Kerrville Tivy.

“Canyon and Drip are probably the preseason favorites because they were 1-2 last year, and it’s everybody else fighting for third and fourth,” the coach said.

A look at the team

Marlena Spurrier, Riley Murrish, Ava Trevino, Madison Hall, Kassidy Kureska, Finley Shanley, Jaycee Bendele, Ashley Ottmers, Carmen Vela, Emily Young, Gabi Vela, Krista Tarver and Lily Ritchie make up this year’s roster.

Tarver and Ottmers were second-team all-district selections last year, and Trevino was an honorable mention pick.

The Vela girls, Carmen and Gabi, are move-ins from Brandeis and have really helped to bolster the lineup this year.

Coach Holtorf said everything is going great so far and added she has a lot of versatility when deciding her lineup for each game.

“The girls are gelling and working together. The chemistry is developing as well,” she said. “I feel that with this year’s squad there are girls that can help out the team wherever they’re needed. We have a lot of utility players and they can play multiple positions, so that’s really cool.”