Vista Ridge brushes past Johnson, and predictions, in bi-district softball playoff win
LEANDER — Vista Ridge made sure to make good use of some bulletin board material it received this week.
Picked to make a quick exit out of the softball playoffs by a statewide prognosticator, the Rangers instead will be sticking around awhile as they defeated Johnson 4-2 in a Class 6A bi-district game Saturday at Glenn High School. Mikala Ham struck out seven in a complete-game performance, and Vista Ridge used a big fourth inning and game-long solid defense to advance to the second round for the first time since 2018.
“It’s not a feeling of relief to win; it’s more of a feeling of that we knew we could do this,” said Vista Ridge coach J.R. Romero, whose Rangers were picked to lose by a Twitter account that covers Class 6A softball around the state. “The kids have faced adversity all week, then we have the storm yesterday, and this result is just really a tribute to our girls and what they do. We were picked to lose, and I put that in the group chat and let them know what other people think of us.”
All of the game’s runs came in the fourth inning.
Johnson (23-8-1) took a 2-0 lead in the top half as Kylie Goad had an RBI double and courtesy runner Kiersten Williams stole third and then scored on a passed ball. But the Rangers answered with their four runs as Chloe Wheeler and Sara Pelache had run-scoring hits, Brooke Wells and Savannah Cockerill singled, and Vista Ridge took advantage of a Jaguar throwing error.
When Wheeler reached over the fence along the third base line for a highlight-reel catch the next inning, it seemed like only a matter of time before the Rangers would close out the win.
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“Everybody thought it was out, but I thought, ‘I’ve got to catch this,’” said Wheeler, who moved to third base from shortstop this season. “I was over the moon when I did. … It’s everything to win in the playoffs. We worked together, didn’t give up and had a lot of fun.”
That was enough for Ham, who worked out of a bases-loaded jam in the sixth — partly due to a crisp play by Wheeler — and then retired the side in the seventh.
“This means a whole lot,” said Ham, a junior who is one of seven underclassman starters. “The last couple of years we’ve lost in the first round, and now we made it through. The defense was working really hard today, and they stopped everything that came their way.”
Vista Ridge (16-12) started the season 1-6 and has dealt with a slew of injuries, including to Ham, Wells and Wheeler, but the Rangers went 11-3 in a tough District 25-6A, have now won seven in a row and seem to be peaking at the right time.
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“We know we’re a strong team; we fight as a team, and we stay together and know can play with the best,” Romero said. “It’s a credit to our girls defensively for stepping up today. This is an environment not a lot of them have been in. They prepped for this game properly defensively.”
Goad and Madalynn Mendoza both finished with two hits to lead the Jaguars.
The Rangers will play either New Braunfels or San Antonio Lee in the area round late next week, but Saturday afternoon was more of a celebration of winning.
And proving the doubters wrong.
“We’re going to enjoy the moment and then get back to work next week,” Romero said.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Vista Ridge beats Johnson to advance to 6A area softball playoffs
