Shiner
St. Paul

Role Reversal: Lady Cards upend HCC to advance to state

Lady Rams won 2021 regional playoff game against St. Paul

  • Brooke Cerny plates one of her two runs. Photo by Mark Lube.
    Brooke Cerny plates one of her two runs. Photo by Mark Lube.
  • Jessica Fikac swings at a pitch. She had a double, two RBI and scored one run.Photo by Mark Lube
    Jessica Fikac swings at a pitch. She had a double, two RBI and scored one run.Photo by Mark Lube
  • Sydney Green struck out four, had one walk and yielded no hits and no runs. Photo by Mark Lube.
    Sydney Green struck out four, had one walk and yielded no hits and no runs. Photo by Mark Lube.

    BY MARK LUBE/SPORTS EDITOR

    SHINERSPORTS@SBCGLOBAL.NET

    MARION — St. Paul earned a trip to the state tournament in defeating the same team that prevented them from going last year.
    The Lady Cardinals are back in the tournament after routing San Marcos Hill Country Christian 17-0 in three innings Thursday evening at Marion High School. St. Paul lost to Hill Country 12-9 in last year’s regional playoff.
    St. Paul got seven hits, one home run, two triples and a pair of double while taking advantage of eight walks, two batters hit and four errors.  Sydney Green got the win with a no-hitter, one walk and four strikeouts with Julia Machacek pitching one inning in relief with one strikeout.
    “It is always exciting but we just have to keep working hard,” senior first baseman Rayleigh Biehunko said. “It feels nice to get a little revenge against San Marcos Hill Country (SMHCC knocked the Lady Cardinals out of the playoffs last year).
    The Lady Cardinals last went to the state tournament in the 2019 season, during senior infielder Seryna Garza’s freshman year.
    “I am very excited to be going back to the state tournament,” she said. “In 2020, it was cancelled because of COVID and last year, we lost to this team. I feel great we are returning to state with a great team, great family.”
    “Last year, I felt we were battling the decisions of umpires rather than the actual team. This year, we had good decisions by the officials and we battled hard and wanted it more,” Garza said.
    Green started the bottom of the first with a triple and her runner Brooke Cerny later advanced home on a wild pitch.  Stefany Pokluda and Biehunko were both walked.
    Tori Walker was hit by the pitch and Jessica Fikac was called out on the infield-fly rule but Hill Country did not field it, allowing Pokluda to score and Biehunko to reach third. Garza put the ball into play and Hill Country had another error, scoring Biehunko.
    Gracie Machart was walked and Paris Flach was walked to score runner Emily Moeller.  Green got a two-out walk to advance Garza home for a 5-0 lead. Machart later scored on a passed ball. Pokluda doubled in Flach and Cerny, and she also later scored via passed ball. Biehunko was walked and Walker tripled her in. Moeller scored on an error. Fikac reached on an error, got second on another error and scored on the RBI single by Garza for the last run of the inning.
    In the second, Green had a in-the-park home run and Fikac had a two-run double to highlight a five-run inning.
    St. Paul hitting/offense — Stefany Polkuda, 2-2, 3 runs, 1 double, 2 RBI, 2 stolen bases; Sydney Green, 2-2, 1 home run 1 triple, 2 RBI; Jesica Fikac, 1-3, 1 run, 1 double 2 RBI; Seryna Garza, 1-3, 1 run, 1 RBI; Tori Walker, 1-1, 1 triple, 1 RBI; Rayleigh Biehunko, 3 runs, 1 stolen base; Emily Moeller, 3 runs; Brooke Cerny 2 runs; Paris Flach, 2 runs; Gracie Machart, 1 run.
    St. Paul pitching — Green, 2 IP, 1 walk, 4K; Julia Machacek, 1 IP, 1K.
    St. Paul fielding/defense — Biehunko, 4 putouts; Polkuda, 1 assist; Garza, 1 assist.
    St. Paul 17, San Marcos Hill Country Christian 0
    St. Paul 17, SM Hill Country 0
    Regional game
    HCC    000    xxx    x    0    0    4
    SSP    125x    xxx    x    17    7    0
    HCC — Aissa Martinez and Sonora Hill. SSP — Sydney Green, Julia Machacek (3) and Tori Walker, Emily Pilat (3). W — Green. L — Martinez.
    HR — SSP: Green.
    3B — SSP: Green, Walker, Jessica FIkac.
    2B — SSP: Pokluda.

    The Lady Cardinals will play Huntsville Alpha Omega at 4 p.m. Friday in the Division IV state semifinals. The winner will play either Fort Worth Christian or Ovilla Christian in the final Saturday at 2:30. Fort Worth Christian and Ovilla will play their state semifinal after St. Paul-Alpha Omega. The games will be at Allan Saxe Field at University of Texas-Arlington (1400 Maverick, Arlington).