H.S. Softball: El Paso Parkland earns Abilene Wylie's respect in area matchup
Since moving up to Class 5A in 2019, the Wylie softball team has thrived. The Lady Bulldogs have reached at least the region quarters ever year as a 5A program, including the region semifinals twice.
Only COVID-19 stopped them when it brought the spring season to half in 2020.
Plainview offered little resistance for the Lady Bulldogs in last week’s playoff opener. Wylie swept Plainview – also known as the Lady Bulldogs – 11-1 and 10 in a pair of five-inning mercy rule games.
Wylie (28-6), which allowed one hit in each game, moves on to play El Paso Parkland (18-16) in a best-of-three series beginning at 6:30 p.m. Friday at Odessa High’s field at the Ratliff Stadium Complex. Game 2 is noon Saturday, and, if needed, Game 3 would follow in Odessa.
Parkland, playing in the second round for the first time in seven years, faces a tall task. Wylie has swept its El Paso opponents every year in the second round since the move to 5A – beating Eastwood (14-5, 7-5) in 2019, El Dorado (11-0, 7-3) in 2021 and Chapin (12-6, 7-3) last year. The latter series also was in Odessa.
In fact, Wylie didn’t drop a game before being swept by eventual state semifinals Aledo in the region semifinals last year.
Yet, Wylie coach Heather Collier isn’t taking the Matadors lightly.
“You don’t take anybody for granted,” Collier said. “It’s the playoffs. Your record before now doesn’t mean a hill of beans. It doesn’t matter who you’ve beat or who you haven’t beat. You better respect every opponent you play.”
That’s not a hard sell for Collier. Wylie, which has qualified for the playoffs ever year since 2016, knows what it takes to win in the postseason and uphold that tradition.
“You’ve got to keep trying to work on being solid all the way around and not get complacent,” Collier said. “You’ve got to make sure you’re sharp on your pitching, your defense, your hitting and your base running. We got to keep fine-tuning.”
After all, Collier said, sometimes the underdog is victorious
“That’s why you play the game,” she said.
Parkland has earned Collier’s respect. The Matadors, the fourth seed from District 2, upset District 1 champion Chapin in the first round – bouncing back from a 13-2 loss in Game 1 to win the final two games 11-9 and 6-5.
“They’re in a good spot,” Collier said. “They’re on a high. They’re excited. I’m sure they’re working hard because they want to be able to play longer and make a name for their program and put their program back on the map.”
Parkland also can put up runs in a hurry. The Matadors have scored 10 or runs in nine games this season, including 20 or more twice.
So, they’ve got Wylie’s attention, and Collier isn’t worried about her team peaking ahead to a possible matchup with Abilene High next week.
“We need to stay in the now,” Collier said. “That’s what we’ve done all season. It doesn’t do you any good to look ahead. You have to stay in the present and work on the now, or you won’t have the future to look forward to.”
Lady Eagles face Hanks
Abilene High can’t get caught looking ahead either. The Lady Eagles (27-5) draw El Paso Hanks (34-1) in a best-of-three area series in Fort Stockton. Game 1 is 5 p.m. Friday, while Game 2 is 11 a.m. Saturday. A third game would be played afterward, if needed.
The winner plays the Wylie/Parkland winner next week.
Hanks has won 24 consecutive games since a 2-0 non-district loss to Coahoma. Hanks beat AHS’ former District 2-6A rivals Midland High, Midland Legacy, Odessa High and Odessa Permian this season.
And don’t scoff at that loss to Class 3A Coahoma (28-3), which has beaten Class 6A and 5A programs this year. Even District 4-5A champion Lubbock Monterey only beat the Bulldogettes 4-2.
Abilene High, playing its first season in the UIL’s second-largest class after always being in the largest, opened the postseason last week with a sweep of Amarillo Caprock, winning 6-0 and 11-1.
The Lady Eagles have won five consecutive games and 10 of their last 12. They’ve scored 10 or more runs in 19 games.
Abilene High, a region quarterfinalist in 2021, lost to eventual state semifinalist El Paso Americas in three games last year.
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Abilene Wylie battles El Paso Parkland in area softball playoffs
