The Coastal Bend College Lady Cougar softball team opened the second half of their season with a split of two games at Lamar and then went on to a successful tournament in Oklahoma.

“We did not show up to play. We could not hit, could not catch and we committed way too many errors,” said CBC coach Roxanne Aguirre concerning the 17-1 drubbing the local ladies took in game one of the Lamar doubleheader.

Game two was a different story. The Lady Cougars battled fang and claw and dealt the Seahawks a 5-4 loss, after hearing about game one from coach Aguirre.

The home team looked to be on their way to a sweep, leading 4-0 at the end of one inning. But, the Lady Cougars got four runs of their own in the top of the second to tie things up. The CBC squad pushed across the wining run in the fifth with a Crystal Garza triple and an RBI single from Juliana Castro for the 5-4 win.

“I knew they could do it,” Aguirre said.

The local ladies then traveled to Tulsa, Okla., for the Mid-West Juco Classic. CBC won its first pool play contest in a slugfest, 14-12, over Southwest Illinois College. Game two was also a win but the CBC Lady Cougars earned a 2-0 win over Garden City College from Kansas.Kelsey Schoonover knocked in both runs in the first inning with Garza and Castro scoring for the Cougars.

Game three of pool play had the Lady Cougars up against Barton County College from Kansas and the battle of the Cougars went to the Kansas club, 12-1.

The Lady Cougars finished second in their pool and went on to play all the other second place clubs on Saturday, March 14.

In a tight game with Ellsworth College from Indiana, the Texas ladies earned a one-run win at 7-6 in an extra-inning contest.

Iowa Western Community College jumped on the Lady Cougars 10-2 in the second game of the day.

The Lady Cougars finished strong, however, with a final game win over Danville Area Community College from Illinois. The final went to the CBC ladies, 7-3.

Through March 14, the Lady Cougars sport a 7-13 overall record in their initial season of play.

“The girls have really come together. It is hard to be a club team and know we are preparing for next year,” Aguirre said.

“The tournament in Oklahoma was a great experience for the girls. They peaked when they needed to. It’s too bad our season is almost over.”

The Lady Cougars close out the season on Saturday with a doubleheader against nationally ranked San Jacinto.