No. 1 Lady Highlanders to meet Rockwall

THE WOODLANDS, Texas – Perched atop the state rankings, The Woodlands High School softball team enters the Region II-5A finals playoff series with a large target on its back.

The No. 1 state-ranked Lady Highlanders (36-3) take on No. 6 Rockwall (27-6-1) in a best-of-three series at Baylor University’s Getterman Stadium. The series begins at 8 p. m. Thursday and continues with a 7 p.m. Friday matchup. A third game, if necessary, would be played at 1 p.m. Saturday.

The Woodlands advanced to the region finals last season, falling to Kingwood. This marks the fourth consecutive season reaching the region finals for the Lady Highlanders, who have not been back to the state tournament since winning the UIL Class 5A state championship in 2011. They could remedy that with a series victory over Rockwall.

The Woodlands rose to the top of the state rankings after sweeping No. 9 Plano West in impressive fashion last week at the region semifinals, running its playoff win streak to four games. The Lady Highlanders have won 27 of their last 28 games.

It’s not surprising that as a team The Woodlands is hitting just above the .400 mark. Junior Aubrey Leach leads the way. She is tops on the team in batting average (.581), on-base percentage (.621), slugging percentage (.883), stolen bases (47), at-bats (129), runs (63), and triples (six).

She is second on the team in RBI (42) to Kaitlyn Stavinoha (45) and tied with Abby Langkamp for second in homers (six) behind younger sister, freshman Kelcy Leach, with 10.

Stavinoha is one of three Lady Highlanders who is hitting above the .400 mark. Seniors Amy Cimera and Sidney Salmans are the other two, although senior Brittany Mann and juniors Langkamp and Shelby Dublin are very close as well.

Langkamp leads the way in the circle. The lefty is 23-0 with a 1.42 ERA. She has five shutouts to her credit this season and has struck out 175 batters in 137 2/3 innings of work.

Senior Caitlin Bartsch has also been a big key to the Lady Highlanders’ success this season and leads the pitching staff with six shutouts. The righty is 11-1 with 10 saves for the season while posting a 1.72 ERA. She has struck out 70 batters in 85 1/3 innings.