CL Hawk Softball Finish Year on an Upbeat!

                    Canyon LakeHawks celebrating after a clinching win in district for a playoff spot.

The Hawk Softball was different than the team that started the season.

World’s Finest say Hawks are Too!

With the departure of several elite players from last year’s team had this club needing to fill some big shoes in order to have a chance for a decent season.

The year started with a lot of one sided losses but those games slowly became an exception and not the rule as this year’s schedule matured into playing district teams.

“After our last game against Navarro, we focused on how we finished the season,” Head Softball Coach Hayley Galloway stated. “I am so proud of them for not giving up and choosing to fight until the very end.”

That turn around was slow in showing up but in a round-robin district schedule, CL was able to break through in that last game.  The Lake, finally broke that stranglehold and beat Davenport. A loss in this battle would have buried this year team’s goal of making the playoffs.

District 28-4A was a two headed monster with the names, Fredericksburg & Boerne, being those schools that would be unscathed in all of those games except in two contests between each other. The Billies proved they were the best in beating the Greyhounds twice but still that gulf between Boerne and those other 4 schools was enormous.

      Way to Go Softball Hawks!!

So you had 4 teams vying for the 3rd and 4th seeds knowing that, Canyon Lake, Wimberley, Bandera, and Davenport would each have 4 losses coming from those top two teams mentioned above.

The Hawks would be on a tight wire act needing wins against all three schools in that second round in order to have a post-season invite.

Those 2nd round of district game had Canyon Lake starting with a home win over Wimberley which started that, Must Win Mantra, with each passing contest.

Beating Bandera would be the second win over a school that beat CL in that first round and now should be able to turn the tables by beating Davenport again which guaranteed a 4th seed and being playoff bound.

Seniors Kenzie Sayles & Jodi Glenn-Millhouse.

Seniors are always an important facet of any team as that leadership and being in many dogfights in previous years can help bring those younger players along for what would benefit the team in those, must wins.

“Kenzie (Sayles) and Jodi (Glenn-Millhouse) will be missed next year,” Coach Hayley Galloway said glowingly. “They have been a steady presence for us in the outfield and the spark plugs at the top of our lineup for the past couple of years.”

Coach Galloway continued, “There were leaders on our team as well, each in their own way. You never had to question if they were going to give you anything but their best. Those two did things the right way. They are going to be hard to replace not only on the field, but off as well.”

Another facet for softball was the importance of having a pitcher in the circle that could give CL some chances in pulling off some victories. Losing Maddy Puente would leave Sayles and Freshman Gabby Barnes as the only go to players doing the pitching.

Sayles had not been the main pitcher during her time playing but had been in some contests since her time at the Lake that gave rest to those main Hawk pitchers. Now she would have a much more important roll in this year’s endeavor. Barnes had pitched but that was not her main position as she was primarily a short-stop and pitching had not been her major position.

Enter CL’s new Assistant Softball Coach, Liz Carter who had been hired from Washington state area but had played in Austin and Corpus Christi A&M.

Coach Liz Carter added more knowledge for Softball this year.

“Adding Coach Carter to the staff was a huge bonus this year,” Coach Galloway continued. “The amount of knowledge she brings about the game, and pitching specifically, was evident in the way the girls threw this year. Their mechanics improved, but they also learned so much about the mental side of the game.”

Hence one of the main reasons this year’s club would be able to bounce back even tho they still need more improvement as they work on becoming more than a 3rd or 4th seed and can look to a future having better years.

A young team that can improve and become players fighting for that upper echelon in district play, so next year, District 28-4A might have a 3 headed monster.

Congrats and Way to Go Seniors!!