By Joshua Koch
Public Communications
Playing the role of the underdog is something Kingwood softball has become accustomed to doing this season.
After struggling out of the gates – falling to Clear Springs in a scrimmage and then losing to Pearland, Deer Park and Alvin in tournament play – some may have already written off the Mustangs in mid-February.
Now, in mid-May, Kingwood is still here.
Thirty-five wins later, the Mustangs are into the Region III-6A Final for the first time since 2016 and now face the nation’s No. 1 softball team in the Katy Tigers.
Again – playing that underdog role but fully embracing it.
“I kind of feel like my team has felt like they’re the underdog the entire time,” Kingwood softball coach Christa Williams-Yates said. “They’re kind of used to being that. They’re not real surprised when they are that. In fact, it’s the other way around, if we are expected to win, that’s something different. They’ve embraced that role and they’ve just taken it and made it their own.”
Game 1 of the Region III-6A Finals is Thursday, May 23, at 7 p.m. at Kingwood High School. On Friday, May 24, Game 2 will be played at Katy High School at 7 p.m. And if a Game 3 is needed, that will be played on Saturday, May 25, at Kingwood High School at 7 p.m.
Kingwood has rattled off 21-straight victories entering Thursday’s showdown with the Tigers. In the playoffs, they have swept every series, going a perfect 8-0 and outsourcing opponents 79-6.
It was towards the beginning of the winning streak that Williams-Yates said it seemed to click for her squad. A 4-0 victory over Summer Creek on March 11 in District 21-6A, which they went undefeated in, at the beginning of Spring Break was the moment and they’ve continued to get better. And they’ve done it as a team.
“This team is probably one of the most unified teams I’ve had the pleasure of coaching,” Williams-Yates said. “They’re very much in tune with each other and that’s something that goes one through 20. I think it took a little bit at first for them to learn to trust each other but they truly are a team.”
Coming into the year, a lot of the outside talk surrounded junior shortstop Addyson Sheppard and for good reason. She was verbally committed to Arizona and one of the top players returning to Kingwood.
“I think at the beginning of the season it felt like people thought it always had to be Addy that had to answer the bell,” Williams-Yates said. “Now that time has gone by it’s been so many people, now Addy knows it doesn’t have to be just her.”
Sheppard has lived up to the preseason hype, batting .500 for the season with 16 doubles, 14 home runs and 47 RBIs to this point.
But she’s got plenty of firepower around her in this lineup.
Junior second baseman Leilani Garcia has hit .469 with 17 doubles 12 homers, 45 RBIs and stolen 13 bases, junior catcher Mia Gagliardi has hit .389 with 15 doubles, nine homers and 49 RBIs. She has also caught 237 1/3 innings behind the dish and senior outfielder Ava Jolley has hit .392 with 11 doubles, 39 RBIs and 12 stolen bases.
“All of my team they’ve seen each other succeed in different moments,” Williams-Yates said. “Now they have confidence in everyone. There are so many people up and down our lineup that have contributed and I do think that’s what makes us unique.”
While the Mustangs have been scoring runs in bunches, especially in the playoffs averaging 9.8 runs per game, the pitching has been lights out, holding opponents to 0.75 runs per game and tossing four shutouts along the way. And they are young.
Two freshmen and a sophomore make up Williams-Yates staff, which is the youngest that she’s ever coached in her career.
“I like that they are what I would consider ‘eager beavers’,” she said. “They want to learn, they want to get better together and better individually.”
Freshman Hunter Quentel has been the ace of the bunch this year posting a 1.48 ERA with 177 strikeouts in 136 1/3 innings. She has also mixed in three no-hitters into her 20-win campaign.
“She’s clearly been really good all year and she continues to get stronger,” Williams-Yates said. “She’s still learning and she’s done such a great job. She’s a bulldog.”
Quentel has also hit for .437 at the dish with 10 doubles, 11 homers and driven in 40 runs this year on top of her stuff in the circle.
Along with Quentel, Lyndsie Gilman (9-2, 1.29 ERA, 79 Ks) and Kendall Yates round out the young core of arms for the Mustangs and the group has been a tight-knit one.
“They’ve worked really well together,” Williams-Yates said. “They are very supportive of one another. Pitchers are very competitive people by nature and they always want the ball. And you want kids that want the ball like that but when they’re not in the circle they are very supportive of each other.”
Now, the biggest test for this young pitching staff and Mustangs squad is ahead of them – No. 1 Katy.
“We’re going to have to play two good games out of three,” Williams-Yates said. “We’re going to have to be able to deal with adversity. Because we’ve made it clear, they’re going to hit the ball, they’re going to make great plays, they’re going to strike us out and you’re going to have to be able to handle that. And we’re going to have to have a little bit of luck along the way. That’s any game.”