Lady Tigers ready to make a run at NCS softball crown

The Lady Tiger varsity softball team is heavily favored to win
its first North Coast Section championship in seven years, as the
Division 3A playoffs get underway this week.
Analy (18-3, 11-1), which won the NCS crown in 1995 and 1999,
landed the number one seed in the tournament for the second
straight year and will ride a tremendous wave of momentum into the
playoffs this season.
³I told the kids that this is your time to make history and if
you really want to win, it¹s there waiting for us,² said veteran
coach Nick Houtz, who has guided the team to the playoffs in each
of his 13 seasons. ³I think if we play ball, there isn¹t a team in
the playoffs that can beat us.²
The complete list of NCS 3A playoff teams in order of seeding
are: Analy, Rancho Cotate, Redwood, Petaluma, Casa Grande, Eureka,
Montgomery and Ukiah.
At press time, the Lady Tigers were preparing to play
eighth-seeded Ukiah on May 23 in the opening round game. Should
Analy advance as expected, they will host the winner of the Casa
Grande-Petaluma game today (May 25) at 5 p.m. The championship game
will take place this Saturday, May 27 (place and time TBA).
The ladies put the wraps on a tremendous league campaign last
week, turning back Sonoma, 8-1. Kat Lawrence continued her dominant
ways, allowing just four hits and claiming 16 strikeout victims
enroute to the win. Pacing the potent, 16-hit Analy attack were:
Katie Barron (3 for 4, 2 RBIs), Amanda Davison (3 for 4, 2 runs,
RBI), Robyn Hurst (2 for 3, RBI) and Ariele Natale (2 for 4, run,
RBI).
Diamond notes: Lawrence was far and away the best pitcher in the
SCL in 2006, posting a perfect 9-0 record, including 122
strikeouts, seven shutouts and an ERA of just 0.21. Lawrence has
amassed a total of 207 strikeouts on the season. Backup hurler and
regular catcher Amanda Davison was 1-1 in league with one shutout.
Top hitters for the Tigers include Lawrence (.429), Kortnie
Millhouse (.405), Hurst (.333), Davison (.319) and Barron
(.310).