2006 Season 24 wins-5 losses State-Semifinalist
2007 Season 29 wins-6 losses Regional Finalist
2008 Season 24 wins-11 losses Regional Quarter Finalist
2009 Season 37 wins-6 losses State Runner Up
SULPHUR SPRINGS! TOURNAMENT
The Ladycats made a great showing in the tournament this weekend against some powerhouse schools!! After being placed in the “Big School” bracket, the Lady’s went 3 wins, 1 Loss and 1 tie. The 3 wins came easy with a combined score of 39-4, which included a 2 run home-run from Kassidy Holmes (1st of the season). The one loss was at the hand of none other than Alexis Cantu of Wakeland, going into the last inning tied 1-1, after 2 errors and one walk, Alexis was up to bat with bases loaded. Unfortunately Celina could not buy a strike from the ump and had no choice but to pitch to her which is exactly all Alexis needed to clean the bases with a “GRAND SLAM”. The tie came in the last game of the tournament with the 5A Forney Lady Rabbits which in this game awarded Shelby Carter her 2nd homerun of the season. WAY TO GO LADYCATS!!
2/20/2010
Alumna shining for college team
FROM STAFF REPORTS
Published: Wednesday, February 24, 2010 8:07 PM CST
Northwestern State freshman pitcher Kylie Roos has started her Lady Demon career in noteworthy fashion, earning Southland Conference Pitcher of the Week honors followed by the Louisiana Sports Writers Association Pitcher of the Week honors. Roos, a Celina alumna, earned the first accolades of her young career after compiling a 3-0 record at the South Alabama Invitational. She sat down 19 batters in 17 innings pitched, tossing two complete games with a shutout against Prairie View A&M early last week.“Kylie is a great pitcher and we are expecting big things of her,” second-year head coach Donald Pickett said. “She knows how to throw strikes, keep hitters off balance and work through tough situations.” In those 17 innings, Roos granted only three bases on balls and allowed batters to hit only .200 for the week. While Roos was on the mound, she compiled a 1.24 earned run average after giving up just three runs. Roos is 4-1 on the season with her lone loss to Louisiana-Monroe, 5-4, at the ULM Mardi Gras Classic early in the season.
PLANO STAR 2/17/2010 Lady Cats hungry to return to state in 2010 BY ANDREW MAY, Staff Writer Published: Wednesday, February 17, 2010 7:55 PM CST Age and experience are mutually exclusive where the Celina softball team is concerned.
The Lady Cats are young, but loaded with practical knowledge of how to play the game at the highest level thanks to last season’s run to the state championship game. As the tournament portion of the 2010 schedule gets cranked up today in Sulphur Springs, head coach Billy Coleman hopes to find that his players haven’t skipped a beat from when they took the field against Needville last June.“They still have that taste in their mouth of getting beat in the state championship game,” Coleman said. “All that playoff experience plays a big factor this year. Even though we’re young, all of them have playoff experience.”A key crop of seniors graduated, including all-state pitcher Kylie Roos, and star infielders Joey Cronin, Brittanie Knowles and Shelby Black. But nine other players return, including catcher Jasmine San Miguel, a three-year starter behind the plate and one of only two seniors on this year’s team. She came through with a bevy of clutch plays during the run to Austin a year ago and will be counted on to do the same if the Lady Cats are to experience similar success this season. “It’s her turn to step up and fill that roll this year,” Coleman said. In the absence of Roos, the 2009 TXSWA Class 3A Player of the Year, the pitching duties will be spread between sophomores Claudia Cantu and Katelyn Drummond, and junior Kassidy Holmes. Cantu went the distance in the season opener Monday in a run-rule shortened 12-1 win over Clifton. Coleman said Roos will be sorely missed, but that other players will have to fill the void. “It’s going to have a big impact. We were just blessed to have her in Celina and be part of the run we had last year,” Coleman said. “Last year is last year. This is their team and their time to show what they can do. Other girls just have to step up this year just like every other year.” If opponents ever overlooked the Lady Cats, those days are gone. Celina has been to the regional tournament each of the last four years and to state two of those times. “We’re known just like football. The expectations are there. We’re going to put a good team on the field,” Coleman said. “The schedule we play this year is probably tougher than any schedule I’ve put together. We’re going to play tough competition and they got to be ready to play.” Coleman said this year’s bunch won’t possess the same pop or power up and down the lineup that last year’s group did. That will force the Lady Cats to rely on their speed, both in the short game and once they get on base. “We’re going to be a faster team this year. We’re going to have more speed, but not as much power,” Coleman said. “We’re going to have growing pains because we are young, but once district rolls around hopefully we’ll have everything clicking like it should and be ready to go.” Celina will face Rockwall-Heath at 1:30 today in the opening game of the Sulphur Springs tournament and Frisco Liberty at 5:30 p.m. The Lady Cats will face Frisco Wakeland and Sunnyvale on Friday, and Carrollton Creekview on Saturday. Celina starting lineup Pitcher - Claudia Cantu/Kassidy Holmes/Katelyn Drummond Catcher - Jasmine San Miguel First base - Kassidy Holmes/Katelyn Drummond Second base - Taylor Norris Third base - Miranda West/Kendall Tompson SS - Shelby Carter LF - Lindsie Knowles CF - Olivia Braddock RF - Ashley Garcia/Paige Mongillo
Belton Tmt.
No. 4 Celina 7, Hendrickson 2, (6)
BELTON -- Lindsie Knowles and Shelby Carter combined for five hits and two RBI and Katelyn Drummond had five strikeouts and allowed only one earned run Saturday in Celina's 7-2 win over Hendrickson in six innings to complete play in the Belton Tournament.Taylor Norris and Carter joined for five RBI and two hits, but a couple of errors cost Celina (11-5) in an 8-7 loss in six to Midland Lee to start play Saturday.Drummond threw an eight-inning no-hitter with seven strikeouts and Norris singled in the game winner on Friday as Celina edged Pasadena Memorial, 1-0. Knowles also doubled.Earlier on Friday, Carter hit a three-run triple in the fifth, Knowles had to two hits and Drummond struck out seven and allowed only one earned run as Celina defeated Belton, 5-3, in seven
Non-district slate putting Lady Cats to the test
BY ANDREW MAY, Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, March 3, 2010 7:12 PM CST
Celina softball coach Billy Coleman has never been one to shy away from playing the best competition around. He’ll even go as far as to take his team on a nearly 200-mile road trip to face quality opponents.
Less than a week after wrapping up play in a predominantly 5A tournament, the Lady Cats begin play in the Belton Tournament today. Right off the bat they face Waco Midway, the state’s fourth-ranked 4A outfit. They also have a date Saturday with Midland Lee, which is ranked No. 12 in 5A.
Butting heads with the state’s elite is nothing new for Celina. The team faced Coppell (No. 1 in 5A) seven days ago in the Allen Tournament and has also tussled with former district foe Frisco Wakeland, a top five 4A team.
“It’s some growing pains early for us, but it’s also good for them too because they see they can compete against them if we play the way we’re capable of,” Coleman said. “We’ve faced some good pitching, as good as anything we’ll see in district, as good as anything we’ll see in the playoffs.”
Celina (6-3) has only played two opponents below the 3A classification thus far. The Lady Cats went 2-2 in Allen, suffering a 8-2 loss to Coppell in the opener and a 9-8 setback to Plano East later in the day. They scored first against Coppell and committed a costly error with two outs in the final inning that led to the loss against East. Coleman said the squad hit the ball well throughout the tourney, but that defense was lacking.
“Against good teams like that, you just can’t make errors and give them extra outs and expect to win,” he said. “It’s just not going to happen.”
Celina regrouped Saturday to finish on a high note with wins against Sachse (12-5) and Sam Rayburn (9-0). Sophomore Katelyn Drummond and junior Kassidy Holmes each recorded a win on the hill, and will continue to split time indefinitely. Coleman said the Lady Cats are slightly better with Drummond on the bump, only because they are healthier defensively with Holmes at first base.
Holmes has also provided instant offense. She is tied for the team lead in home runs with sophomore Shelby Carter after belting two in the Allen Tournament. Hitting out of the third spot in the lineup, Carter has developed more pop this season after being mostly a line-drive hitter a year ago during Celina’s state tournament run.
“We’re hitting the ball well so that’s very encouraging,” Coleman said.
The coach knows the defense will come around. Part of the reason it hasn’t is because the Lady Cats have been forced to practice inside frequently because of the weather.
On an even more negative note, freshman Mackenzie Armstrong has been lost for the season with an ACL injury. Sophomore Claudia Cantu is out with a hurt shoulder and may not return until the end of district play.
Coleman said he hopes the team will bond this weekend as it plays six games in three days against stiff competition.
“This tournament brings them together and forms those bonds,” he said. “They tend to jell a little bit better.”
The Lady Cats will face Waco Midway at noon today before taking on Magnolia at 2 p.m. Friday’s slate includes games against Belton and Pasadena Memorial. The team will wrap up play Saturday against Midland Lee and Hendrickson.
“It’s always tough,” Coleman said. “It won’t be any different this year.”
Despite tough competition, Lady Cats go 4-2 in final tournament
BY ANDREW MAY, Staff Writer
Published: Wednesday, March 10, 2010 7:02 PM CST
Celina softball coach Billy Coleman would just assume suffer a quality loss than record a hollow victory. That’s why he routinely schedules some of the best competition the state has to offer during non-district play.
It usually pays off. The Lady Cats are again the favorite to claim the 9-3A championship, and when district play gets ramped up Monday, they will be plenty prepared for anything they see.
Celina went 4-2 over the weekend in the second annual Cen-Tex Hit-n-Run Classic, beating four teams in higher classifications and losing twice to state-ranked outfits. All in all, Coleman was pleased with how things went.
“The girls came together, and even in the losses they played well,” he said. “We got everything out of it we wanted to.”
The Lady Cats began the tournament last Thursday with a 2-0 loss to Waco Midway, which wound up going undefeated. Midway, ranked ninth in the state in 4A, broke open a scoreless tie in the final three innings to get the job done.
Celina, which dropped to seventh in the 3A state rankings, then reeled off victories over Magnolia (5-0), Belton (5-3) and Pasadena Memorial (1-0). Hitting out of the seventh spot in the lineup, sophomore Taylor Norris came through with the game-winning RBI in the eighth inning against Memorial, which made it to the 5A area playoffs last season.
Saturday brought perhaps the most impressive game of the tournament. Facing a 5-0 deficit to Midland Lee, the No. 15 team in 5A, the Lady Cats battled back to take a 7-5 lead into the final inning. Lee, which has 2,349 more students than Celina, wound up capitalizing on defensive miscues to win 8-7, but it didn’t put a damper on what Coleman called a gutsy performance by his team.
“To lose after being up two runs was kind of disappointing but to be up two runs showed a lot of character,” he said. “We could’ve gotten run-ruled but the girls fought back with pride.”
Celina closed out the tournament with a 7-2 win against Pflugerville Hendrickson. Sophomore Katelyn Drummond picked up the victory on the hill, capping a three-day run that saw her go the distance in all six games.
Despite calling Midway’s Kermitria Ward one of the better pitchers in the state, saying there isn’t another hurler in the region that throws as hard (65 mph) or possesses the “stuff” she has, Coleman said Drummond wasn’t overshadowed by much.
“She has matched every pitcher we’ve faced,” he said. “It’s good to see her get her stamina back.”
The Lady Cats will face Burkburnett on the road at 6 p.m. Friday in the final non-district game of the season. They will begin 9-3A play Monday at noon against Sanger before taking on Prosper in the district home opener at 2 p.m. Wednesday.
“It’s all starting to come along like it should,” Coleman said.
“PERFECT GAME”
Friday March 12, 2010
Despite a disappointing loss to Burkburnett, there was plenty to celebrate Friday. Kassidy Holmes pitched the first game against Olney and she was flawless. She pitched to 15 batters, struck out 11 with no walks. Cannot get any better than that!! Way to go Kassidy on your win 12-0 over Olney. That was on the defensive side, on the offensive our Ladycats had hits up and down the lineup. Keep up the great work LADYCATS!!
What else can you say? The Ladycats played their 2nd district game at home against Prosper, winning 9-3. The Ladycats are 2-0 in district play, defeating Sanger on Monday with a score of 9-0.
Tonight’s game was intense to say the least. Ladycats took an early lead in the 1st inning 1-0, but let it slide with a 3 run inning by Prosper in the 3rd. But the Ladycats NEVER gave up! In the bottom of the 5th with 2 outs and 2 on base, Katelyn started a 2 out rally with a single and 2 rbi. The rest of the line-up followed suit with at-least singles and Taylor Norris with her first homerun of the season. The Ladycats went on to score 7 runs in that inning giving them a 9-3 lead going into the 6th.
Katelyn finished the night with a total 8 strike outs and held Prosper in the last two innings to no hits.
WAY TO GO LADYCATS!!!!!
3/17/2010
5/7 http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/Sports/Softball-Roundup----Celina-tops-Kennedale
5/9 http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/Sports/Softball-Roundup----Celina-tops-Kennedale
5/4 http://www.planostar.com/articles/2010/05/07/sports/schools/celina/47.txt
District 9-3A No. 8 Celina 23, Whitesboro 0 (3) http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/SiteSearchResults/4-14-Softball-Roundup
4/17 http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/Sports/4-18-Softball-Roundup
4/14 Lady Cats clinch fourth straight district title http://www.planostar.com/articles/2010/04/19/sports/schools/celina/54.txt
4/5 Celina vs Prosper: http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/SiteSearchResults/Softball-Roundup----Bells-tops-GT
4/2 Celina vs Sanger http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/SiteSearchResults/4-4-Softball-Roundup
4/1 Plano Star: Argyle game http://www.planostar.com/articles/2010/04/01/sports/schools/celina/58.txt
3/31 Herald Democrate: Argyle game http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/Sports/3-31-Softball-round---
3/28 Herald Democrat: Whitesboro game http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/SiteSearchResults/3-28-Softball-Roundup
3/24 Herald Democrat: Gainesville game http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/SiteSearchResults/3-24-Softball-Roundup
3/24 Gainesville Register: Gainesville game http://gainesvilleregister.com/localsports/x58342309/Lady-Cats-cruise-past-Gainesville
3/24 Plano Star: Gainesvile game http://www.planostar.com/articles/2010/03/24/sports/schools/celina/59.txt
3/18 Herald Democrat: Prosper game http://www.heralddemocrat.com/hd/SiteSearchResults/3-18-Celina-Prosper-soft
Lady Cats clinch playoff berth
BY ANDREW MAY, amay@acnpapers.com
Published: Wednesday, April 7, 2010 7:42 PM CDT
The Celina softball team has qualified for the playoffs. In other news, water is wet and snow is cold.
With three games still remaining on the district slate, the Lady Cats have sealed their postseason spot for the sixth time in seven years. A victory Saturday over Gainesville - an opponent Celina walloped 19-0 the first time around - would secure a share of the 9-3A championship. The team has clinched the crown each of the last three seasons after moving up from Class 2A for the 2006-07 campaign.
Celina nailed down its fifth consecutive playoff berth Monday in fitting fashion with a 10-1 rout of rival Prosper. The Lady Cats dominated the battle of the state-ranked powers, using six RBIs from senior catcher Jasmine San Miguel to pace the blowout. Two of San Miguel’s three hits left the yard as Celina (16-6, 5-0) rocked Lissa Pappas. Junior Kassidy Holmes and sophomore Katelyn Drummond each supplied another home run to go along with four total RBIs. Sophomore outfielder Lindsie Knowles tacked on three hits for Celina, which had a dozen as a team.
Drummond continued to dazzle in the circle, striking out 12 and allowing three hits, a pair of walks and the one earned run. She got plenty of run support as the Lady Cats scored three runs in the first inning, four in the second and two more in the fourth to pull away.
The win helped Celina complete the season sweep of Prosper, which entered the contest tied for No. 25 in the TGCA Class 3A poll.
It was the fourth time in seven district games for CHS to hit double digits. The squad blew past Sanger, 11-0, Friday and is now averaging 12 runs per game in 9-3A play.
Sophomores Taylor Norris and Shelby Carter each belted triples in the victory, while Carter and Holmes each had two RBIs. Celina, the eighth-ranked team in the state, scored all 11 of its runs in the second and third innings. Drummond scattered three hits and struck out eight.
The Lady Cats will host Gainesville at noon on Saturday.
TEXOMA HERALD DEMOCRAT - 5/12/2010
Celina softball still has Argyle's number
BY MARSHALL MOORE
SPECIAL TO THE HERALD DEMOCRAT
DENTON -- Even after advancing through the first two rounds of the Class 3A softball tournament in four straight games, Argyle still can't seem to figure out its district rival.
The Eagles dropped the first game of their regional quarterfinal series with Celina on Tuesday night in Denton, giving up eight runs in a disastrous sixth inning to fall 8-0 and suffer their first playoff loss.
"We played really well for about 5 2/3 innings," Argyle coach Natalie Coonrod said. "They just started hitting the ball. They're definitely a team that can do that, and we just didn't put the ball in play. You can't come in against a team like this and give up 10 runs and only get two hits and rely on them to get errors. You can't do that."
Argyle (14-10) had already dropped both of their District 9-3A games to the LadyCats (22-6), who went on to finish atop the standings with an unbeaten record.
Still, the Eagles have played Celina tough this season. Argyle was the only team to hold Celina under eight runs during district play this season, narrowly falling to the LadyCats 4-2 back on April 16 after losing the first matchup 9-0.
Any progress the Eagles had made, however, went right out the window after a catastrophic bottom of the sixth inning that spoiled what had previously been a solid defensive performance.
Argyle held Celina scoreless through five innings and appeared close to making it six, recovering from an early single by Jasmine SanMiguel to record two outs and come within a breath of ending the inning. Then, the dormant Celina offense suddenly woke up.
Touched off by an RBI single by Paige Mangillo and spurred on by a two-run, stand-up triple by Taylor Norris, Celina put nine straight batters on base on seven hits and with the help of three Argyle errors.
When the dust settled, the LadyCats had built a commanding 8-0 lead by the end of the inning.
"They took advantage of their opportunities and we didn't," Coonrod said. "They only had one extra base hit on us and a bunch of singles. They just base hit up to death. We need to do the same kind of thing to them."
The Eagles, meanwhile, struggled to put just four runners on base on two hits against Celina pitcher Katelyn Drummond.
Drummond helped the LadyCats earn their fourth consecutive shutout of the playoffs, striking out 11 batters while walking just one through her seven innings of action.
"I don't really know what happened," Celina coach Billy Coleman said. "We've been hitting like that all year, but we didn't quite put a complete game together tonight. Fortunately, when we haven't been hitting hitting well, our defense has really stepped up."
Argyle pitcher Emily Rodgers took the loss, meanwhile, finishing with one two strikeouts and one walk while giving up 14 hits.
Argyle was led from the plate by Blair O'Brien and Brooke O'Brien, who accounted for both of the Eagles' hits. Celina, meanwhile, got RBIs from eight of the nine batters in its lineup including three from Claudia Cantu and Shelby Carter.
Argyle now finds itself trailing a best-of-three series for the first time this postseason after sweeping both Van Alstyne and Castleberry in the first two rounds. The Eagles are in the regional quarterfinals for the first time in the program's history.
"We're on a huge ride regardless of how this comes out," Coonrod said. "We've never been here before. This is a neat group that is going to bounce back. I think we came in playing a little scared tonight and we have to realize that, in order to go all the way, you have to beat teams like this.
The Eagles will try to even the series in the second game on Friday at Denton High. Celina, meanwhile, will try to clinch a trip to the regional semifinal.
"We're not going to underestimate them," Coleman said. "That's not how I coach them. Friday is like a one game series, and we're going to come in and play it like that."
