The Rockdale Lady Tigers come into the 2019 softball season with experienced and talented players, who have the ability to adapt in what Head Coach Erin Palmer said could be the one of the toughest districts in class 3A.
RHS is coming off an 8-6 fourth place finish in District 20-3A and their first post-season appearance since 2014.
The Lady Tigers are playing in district 19-3A this season.
“Our district has been an all-out battle the last couple of years,” Palmer said. “It’s usually been six good teams competing for four playoff spots. We lost Jarrell and Hearne, who we swept last year, and now we’ve added McGregor and Troy, who were both playoff teams in the neighboring district last year.”
Lady Tigers fell to the first place Trojanettes 6-0 in the bi-district round of the UIL 3A Softball State Playoffs. Troy’s pitcher Marley Hilton had 10 strikeouts against Rockdale in their first round. Troy lost two seniors including Hilton, and Kacey Rose, who had a batting average of .469 last year.
“(Troy) lost their pitcher,” Palmer said. “So they will likely be a different team this season.”
The Lady Tigers lost one senior, Cailey Knighton, a pitcher, who ended her four-year career in Rockdale as the all-time leader in strikeouts for the Lady Tigers with 429 and the third most wins with 35.
Many core players from last year’s first round playoff squad can step in to fill the void, according to Palmer.
“We’ll definitely miss Cailey,” Palmer said. “But we have several girls that played well last year that I definitely think are going to step up this year.
“Karley Leopold was also one of our pitchers last year, and will probably have to make up for the ninety innings that Cailey pitched for us last year, but I’m confident she’ll be able to do that. She’s also added a few new pitches,” she said. “Macy Knesek, Emily Depine and Autumn Montelongo are also upperclassmen that can play any place you need them and have been dependable.”
Palmer is also looking forward to the young talent on this year’s roster including sophomores Yarely Navarro, Mariana Casarez, Tyley Arledge and freshmen Haven Jimenez.
“Haven is someone who I’ve kept track of during her play in the youth league here,” Palmer said. “She’s been looking great on defense, and I’m excited to see how she shapes our roster.
“Yarely is a great athlete that I’m looking forward to seeing after basketball ends. Mariana hit the first over-the-fence home run in practice this season and will definitely be a threat at the plate. We also have Tyley, who is switching from batting right-handed to left-handed this season since she’s so fast down the baseline.”
The Lady Tiger softball team began their season on Friday evening with inter-squad scrimmage known as the Blue and Gold game.
“We’ve been doing this game since I started here four years ago,” said Palmer. “It’s something to do to kick off the year and get the community excited about the season, and the brand new stadium.
“But it’s also a great opportunity to get our girls in real-live game situations without the stakes being too high. We had umpires, kept score, and people in the crowd. So, you had the feeling of a game that you can’t quite get in a practice when you’re scrimmaging.”
Blue defeated Gold 12-3. Montelongo had the game’s only home run. Leopold was the winning pitcher. Jimenez and Emma Roberts were the losing pitchers for the gold team.
The Lady Tigers played in their first official game on Monday against Caldwell losing 16-1, and face the Burnet Lady Bulldogs at home at 6:30 p.m., Friday.
Tigers – The Rockdale Tiger baseball team had their first informal practice on Friday after school.
“It was kind of try-out,” said John Hooser, Rockdale High School head baseball coach. “Kids came out and took ground balls and did other drills.
“As far as who is going to play where, I don’t know yet. But I should know after the next week or so when I get more of a chance to see who I have.”
The Tigers lost one senior off of last year’s team that went 1-11 in District 20-3A. Of the 2018 squad’s 11 district losses, five of those were by three or less runs. Rockdale also lost one senior, and return seven seniors, including three of their five starting pitchers.
“I know we’ll have a lot of experience on the mound,” Hooser said.
Zac Davis led the Tigers with 29 strikeouts in 25.2 innings. Ryker Zinn and Tyler Caldwell both had 18 strikeouts in 23 and 24 innings pitched.
Senior Jackson Perry led the team with 20 hits, 18 runs batted in (RBI) and a batting average of .370.
Like the Lady Tigers, the boy’s also switched from District 20-3A to District 19-3A.
“We have a pretty good district,” Hooser said. “You can count on Cameron being good just about every year.
“You also have a lot of really good baseball schools such as Troy, Academy, and Rogers. Franklin was also district champion last year, so you can bet they’ll be good.”
The Tigers play their first game on Tuesday, Feb. 4, in Bellville. The Brahmas won district 25-4A and made it to the area round of the UIL 4A State Baseball Playoffs before falling 2-1 in a three game series with Boerne 5-2, 1-6, 3-11.
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