The four Dallas-area teams that reached the 2023 UIL softball state tournament in Austin had to play as the underdog for much of the weekend.
As none of the teams had reached state since 2010, all four programs faced opponents with much more state tournament experience. At the end of their day, they could not come away with the upset and respective championships.
Many of the coaches referenced how challenging it can be to play in a state tournament environment for teams that aren’t familiar with that stage. Of the four Dallas-area teams, Denton Guyer had reached state most recently in 2010. Aubrey made it in 2007. Colleyville Heritage made it in 1998. And Frisco Heritage was in its first appearance ever.
“You have to learn how to win every level you go,” Frisco Heritage coach Tim O’Brien said. “It’s a learning process.”
Four of the six teams that won state this year had won a title before. All six champions had reached the state tournament multiple times.
The setup of the state tournament is different from the rest of the postseason. Especially for teams that had played three-game series in the five rounds prior, having their fate decided by just seven innings was an adjustment.
Or in Colleyville Heritage’s case, it was decided by a single hit.
Comal Canyon sophomore Markaylee Maldonado hit a two-RBI triple in the bottom of the sixth inning in the Class 5A state semifinal game Friday that ultimately decided the 2-0 contest.
“In a series, I think we take them down,” Colleyville Heritage coach Allison Conaway said postgame.
Aubrey faced a similar frustration — as it had survived three consecutive elimination games and fought back from a 1-0 deficit in the regional semifinals. Against Corpus Christi Calallen, the eventual state champion, it didn’t get that chance to recover from an off night. And Calallen, which was at state for its third time in four years, knew what it took to be on its game.
“It was just not our night,” Aubrey coach James Ramsey said.
Frisco Heritage was challenged with the tall task of taking down the nation’s No. 1 team in Montgomery Lake Creek that had won 83 of its last 84 games entering the contest.
Heritage hadn’t even reached the playoffs two seasons ago. Facing the defending state champions — who went on to repeat on Saturday — in its first trip to Austin was the toughest ask for any Dallas-area team.
Denton Guyer was the only team to win its state semifinal matchup, as it defeated Bridgeland, which was at state for the first time. However, it advanced to face seven-time state semifinalist and two-time state champion Pearland in the final — where it came up just short. Guyer asked a lot of its freshman pitcher Finley Montgomery in her first season of high school softball. She was ultimately pulled early in both games, but did re-enter in the sixth inning of the state final. She finished the weekend with 5.2 innings pitched and gave up nine hits and six runs.
“You never really know what’s gonna happen on the big stage when you haven’t been there,” Guyer coach Keith Medford said.
No first-place trophy made its way back up I-35 and to the metroplex, but all four coaches hammered home how proud they were to even reach the final four.
“It’s hard to get down here,” Ramsey said. “We start with like 200 teams, and only four make it down here. It’s a marathon to get here. You’ve gotta be good. You’ve gotta get breaks along the way. You’ve gotta stay healthy. There’s a lot of things that go into play that make it very difficult to get down here which is why it’s so special.”
The Dallas area has still not won a state softball title since 2018.
But if any of this year’s four teams can return to state in the near future, they could find themselves on the other side — with the rookie semifinalists trying to find a way to upset them.
“We’re hungry,” Conaway said. “You know what it takes to get here, and then you know what it’s like when you get here.”
On Twitter: @Lassimak
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