Bastrop, Cedar Creek and Elgin joined Georgetown – which dropped from Class 5A –former District 16-4A opponents Hutto, Connally and Manor and new school Georgetown Eastview to make up District 17-4A.

Just as predicted.

While the district alignment was what most coaches were expecting, the move to Region III (Houston) was kind of surprising.

“I wasn’t expecting Region III,” said Bastrop head coach Gerald Perry. “We are up against a good Brenham district for our bi-district and we have never seen those teams before. It’s what makes the day exciting.”

Elgin head coach Wade Griffin said he thought there was a possibility of a couple of changes, but figured it was going to be just how it turned out.

“It’s about what we expected,” he said. “Moving to Region III was a bit of a shock, but if you look at it, we could have gone to any of the three regions (Dallas, Houston or San Antonio.”

Georgetown and Eastview replace Hendrickson, which jumped to Class 5A, and Bryan-Rudder, which was aligned with Brenham, Conroe Caney Creek, Huntsville, Magnolia, Magnolia West, Montgomery, Waller and Willis in District 18-4A.

The move to Region III will make most regional competitions much closer in Huntsville while when Elgin and Bastrop were part of Region II, the schools traveled over 200 miles.
The new alignment also brings a much greater challenge, according to Perry.

With the addition of Georgetown, which is a state powerhouse in baseball and girls basketball, 17-4A will be much more competitive.

“Georgetown is good in a lot of sports,” Perry said. “This is going to be a good competitive district.”

Griffin welcomed the addition of Georgetown, where he served as defensive coordinator prior to being hired by Elgin in the summer of 2011.

“I’m pretty excited about getting to play Georgetown,” he said. “Competitive wise, this district is going to be tough, which is a good thing.”

Another interesting side note, both Perry and Griffin were candidates for the head coaching job at Georgetown East View in February 2011 when the district was looking to hire East View’s first football coach.

Thursday was an exciting time for Cedar Creek’s coaches as they took part in its first district realignment in the school’s short two-year history.

The Eagles will play their first football varsity schedule in the fall, while the other sports will play in their second varsity season.

Cedar Creek head coach Dan Hernandez said it was a good day for Eagle football.

“I’m pretty excited and look at this as a challenge,” Hernandez said. “Our kids were excited (Wednesday) at our banquet and they were already talking about what they needed to do. Now that we know where we are going, we have something to work with to get ready for next year.”

District 17-4A coaches met Thursday after realignment was set and finalized their schedules.

Schedules will not be official until Feb. 21 when coaches can officially sign two-year contracts, but all three area schools in District 17-4A tentatively set their schedules.

Bastrop’s non-district schedule will be Vista Ridge, Gonzales and Akins (Sept. 13).

Elgin’s non-district schedule will be Rudder, Lehman and Vista Ridge.

Cedar Creek’s non-district schedule will be Travis, Lanier and Lockhart.

Notable district games are Bastrop at Cedar Creek (Oct. 12); Bastrop at Elgin (Nov. 2) and Elgin at Cedar Creek (Nov. 8).

Bastrop and Cedar Creek will share BISD Memorial Stadium for all varsity football games.
TENTATIVE SCHEDULES
BASTROP
Aug. 31    Vista Ridge    A    7:30 p.m.
Septl. 7    Gonzales    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 13     Akins    H    7 p.m.
Sept. 21    Manor*    A    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28    Eastview*    H    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5    Open
Oct. 12    Cedar Creek*    A    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19    Hutto*    H    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 26    Connally*    A    7:30 p.m.
Nov. 2    Elgin*    A    7:30 p.m.
Nov. 9    Georgetown*    H    7:30 p.m.

CEDAR CREEK
Aug. 31    Travis    A    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 7    Lanier    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 14    Lockhart    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 21    Hutto*    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28    Connally*    A    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5    Open
Oct. 12    Bastrop*    H    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19    Georgetown*    A    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 26    Manor*    H    7:30 p.m.
Nov. 2    Eastview*    A    7:30 p.m.
Nov. 8    Elgin*    H    7 p.m.

ELGIN
Aug. 31    Bryan-Rudder    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 7    Lehman    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 14    Vista Ridge    A    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 21    Georgetown*    H    7:30 p.m.
Sept. 28    Hutto*    A    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 5    Open
Oct. 12    Manor*    A    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 19    Connally*    H    7:30 p.m.
Oct. 26    Eastview*    A    7:30 p.m.
Nov. 2    Bastrop*    H    7:30 p.m.
Nov. 8    Cedar Creek*    A    7 p.m.

Elgin defeated rival Bastrop 66-46 Tuesday at Wildcat Gym in Elgin to clinch a spot in the postseason and complete the season sweep of the Bears.

The Wildcats are 6-3 against Bastrop in team sports for the school year.

And Elgin’s student section let Bastrop know about it as they chanted, “just like football” late in the fourth quarter as the Wildcats concluded dismantling the Bears big men.

This game wasn’t all Elgin early on as it looked as though Bastrop was going to give the Wildcats everything they could handle.

John Thorne scored the first six points of the game as he and Cameron

Williams combined for 12 in the first quarter to give the Bears a 13-11 lead going into the second period.

Elgin (23-4, 10-2 District 16-4A) took its second lead of the game early in the quarter when Tracy Haywood connected on his first of two three-point field goals for the game.

The Wildcats didn’t pull away from the Bears despite never giving up the lead for the remainder of the first half.

Chis Young tied the game at 21, but Da’Trean Simmons quickly gave Elgin the lead back by making 1-of-2 free throws.

When it was all said and done, Armando Guerrero connected on a three-point play to give Elgin a 27-24 lead at halftime.

The game would continue to stay close in the third quarter, but Bastrop (19-15, 7-6) didn’t get the lead back until the 3:21 point when Thorne made a pair of free throws to give the Bears a 36-35 lead.

However, Elgin closed the quarter with an 8-0 run to lead by five.

The Wildcats forced Bastrop out of its zone defense, which was giving Elgin a lot of trouble all night.

But that played to Elgin’s strength as the Wildcats held Bastrop to just two field goals for the entire fourth quarter.

“(Thorne) is the best big man in the district,” said Elgin head coach Dave Schmitt. “Our game plan was to not let him touch the ball, and we did that in the second half, but he came out and scored the first six points of the game.”

Both of Bastrop’s buckets were scored by Thorne, who finished the game with a team-high 14 points to go with 12 rebounds. Williams had 11 points to go with 11 rebounds while Young also finished the night with 14 points.

Both teams struggled from the free-throw line as Bastrop was 12-of-21 from the charity stripe and Elgin was 10-of-21.

Trey Nash led Elgin with a game-high 22 points while Troy Nash had 17 and Haywood had 13.

“They just out played us in the second half,” said Bastrop head coach Tim Davis. “The loss doesn’t change anything on paper for us.”

The Bears are right in the playoff mix with Hutto and Connally for the final playoff spot in 16-4A. All three teams are separated by a half game.

Bastrop is open Friday and will host Cedar Creek Tuesday and will play the most pivotal game of the year Feb. 10 at home against Hutto.

Elgin is still in the running for the district title and is tied with Manor for the district lead and will take on Cedar Creek Friday and host Hutto Tuesday.

Elgin 66, Bastrop 46
Bastrop    13    11    12    10    -    46
Elgin    11    16    16    23    -    66
Bastrop (19-9, 6-6): John Thorne 14, Chris Young 14, Cameron Williams 11, Dontray Kinsey 4, Shawn Lemon 2, Daniel Hill 1
Elgin (24-4, 10-2): Trey Nash 22, Troy Nash 17, Tracy Haywood 13, De’Trean Simmons 4, Armando Guerrero 4, Te’Rel Simmons 2, Aundoy Thomas 2, Matt Valdez 3

Bastrop’s John Thorne (33) defends Elgin’s Trey Nash (3) Tuesday as Nash goes up for a shot at Wildcat Gym in Elgin. (Ken Daughtry/ For the Bastrop Advertiser)

Elgin's Tracy Haywood (33) defends Bastrop's Shawn Lemon (3) Tuesday at Wildcat Gym in Elgin. (Ken Daughtry/ For the Bastrop Advertiser)

Bastrop's Malik Matthews drives through a group of Elgin players for a shot Tuesday at Wildcat Gym in Elgin. (Ken Daughtry/ For the Bastrop Advertiser)

After a missed three in the fourth quarter, one he heard about from the Connally fans, Matthews drained two three-pointers to lift Bastrop to a 49-44 win over Connally at Bear Gym. After his first, he held up three fingers walking back to play defense.

“I told him in the locker room that two years from now, I’ll kill him for taking those shots,” said head coach Tim Davis. “He’s fearless despite always being the smallest kid on the court. He won that game for us.”

Bastrop’s win tightened a very close district race and snapped Connally’s seven-game winning streak that featured wins over district-leading Manor and Elgin.

More importantly, Bastrop completed the sweep over the Cougars, thus giving the Bears the tiebreaker if the race comes down between them and Connally.

“We have momentum now (going into the final weeks of the season),” Davis said. “We pretty much know the number of games we need to win and we’ll take each one one at a time.”

Bastrop (19-14, 7-5 District 16-4A) had to fight back after the Cougars jumped out to a 21-10 lead in the first quarter after Connally’s Andrew Hill and Deshawn Riddick combined for 10 points.

Riddick, and especially Hill, would be quiet for the rest of the game, as Bastrop’s big men – Cameron Williams and John Thorne – took over to cut the Cougars’ lead.

Thorne jumped all over Connally (14-14, 6-5) in the second quarter, scoring eight of his game-high 14 points.

The senior post’s defense also played a factor as the Bears held Connally to four points in the quarter and trailed by one going into the locker room at halftime.

Bastrop didn’t let up and took its first lead when Dontray Kinsey put back a rebound within the first minute of the second half.

The Bears held onto that lead for just a few minutes as Connally tied the game midway through the third quarter.

Williams helped Bastrop get back the lead with a dunk over Riddick, but both teams would trade the lead until Thorne scored on another offensive rebound to give the Bears a two-point lead going into the fourth quarter.

Connally tied the game early in the fourth quarter, but a three from Shawn Lemon gave the Bears the lead for good, but it was Matthews fearless play that held off a Cougar surge.

“We really have been able to put a couple of games together,” Davis said. “We are capable of beating any team in our district.”

Bastrop will look to keep its big play going Tuesday when they travel into a hostile environment for a rematch with Elgin on the Wildcats home court.

Elgin has lost two of its last three games going into Tuesday’s game, but was off Friday.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 pm.

If Carl Padilla’s predictions hold true, Bastrop will say goodbye to Bryan-Rudder and Hendrickson, which is expected to move up to Class 5A.
In Rudder and Hendrickson’s place, current District 16-4A opponents will possibly add Georgetown, which is expected to drop to Class 4A, and new schools Georgetown Eastview and Cedar Creek to their schedules.

That’s the realistic look at it.

However, there are always a few surprises.

In 2010, Bastrop and Elgin were placed in the Dallas region (Region II) in District 16-4A which was a surprise to many at the time, including Bastrop head coach Gerald Perry and former Elgin head coach Danny Lauve.

Carl Padilla has Bastrop, Elgin and Cedar Creek making the move to the Houston region (Region III) in District 17-4A for the 2012 redistricting.

While nothing is ever scientific when it comes to predicting redistricting, there is a better chance of figuring out Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity, there are some conclusions that can be drawn from current enrollment numbers and past trends that might make Padilla’s predictions come true.

In 2010, however, Padilla’s predictions were way off as he had Bastrop in a district with Hays, Dripping Springs, Lehman, Lake Travis and Lockhart.

The thing that could hold true with his 2012 predictions are the geographical handcuffs for the two Georgetown schools.

Hendrickson is expected to jump to Class 5A after turning in an enrollment of 2,276. Cedar Ridge, which competes in District 16-4A this year in every sport but football, is also expected to move to Class 5A with the rest of Round Rock ISD schools. It turned in an enrollment of 3,065.

That pretty much leaves Georgetown ISD nowhere else to go, especially with Killeen also being expected to move up to Class 5A.

Lake Travis is moving up to Class 5A as well, leaving a hole in District 25-4A (Cedar Park, Vista Ridge, Rouse, Vandegrift, Dripping Springs and Marble Falls).

However, with Leander expected to drop from Class 5A with an enrollment of 1,970, the Lions are going to be the perfect replacement.

Don’t expect a reunion with Hays, Lehman and Lockhart for Bastrop and Elgin.

New Braunfels Canyon (27-4A) is expected to jump to Class 5A, but that could be remedied easily with Seguin’s expected return to Class 4A.

The Austin ISD district – 26-4A – is pretty much locked up with seven schools and while Elgin and Manor could move over to that district geographically, there is little speculation that the UIL will put together a nine-team district.

That pretty much leaves the only option to have the two Georgetown schools replace Rudder and Hendrickson and place them with Bastrop, Cedar Creek, Elgin, Manor, Hutto and Connally.

Of course, nothing is certain until Feb. 2 when the UIL releases the new districts for 2012-14.

Stay tuned.

BY THE NUMBERS
Here is enrollment numbers turned in to the UIL on snapshot day in Dec. 2011. The three Class 5A schools are projected to drop down to Class 4A when realignment is announced on Thursday.

Class 5A
Leander    1,970
Georgetown    1,990
Seguin    2,044

Class 4A
Bastrop    1,513
Cedar Creek    1,260
Cedar Park    1,796
Cedar Ridge*    3,065    Connally     2,004
Dripping Springs     1,307
Georgetown Eastview    1,418
Elgin    1,200
Killeen*    2,192.5
Lake Travis*    2,218
Lehman    2,064
Lockhart    1,325
Manor    1,642
Marble Falls    1,112
NB Canyon*    2,101
Rouse     1,863
Vandegrift    1,458
Vista Ridge    1,779
Hays    2,015
Hutto    1,325
Hendrickson*    2,276
Crockett    1,566
Eastside Memorial**    771
Lanier    1,659
LBJ    1,869.5
McCallum    1,763.5
Reagan    1,051.5
Travis    1,483
* Projected to move to 5A
**Opting to move up to 4A

2010 Classification numbers
Class 5A: 2,065 and above
Class 4A: 990-2,064
Class 3A: 430-969
Class 2A: 200-429
Class A: 199-below

PADILLA REALGINMENT PROJECTIONS
District 17
Bastrop
Cedar Creek
Elgin
Georgetown
Georgetown Eastview
Hutto
Manor
Connally

District 28
Alamo Heights
Boerne Champion
Hays
Lehman
Kerrville Tivy
Lockhart
Schertz Clements
Seguin

District 25
Vandegrift
Cedar Park
Vista Ridge
Leander
Rouse
Dripping Springs
Marble Falls

There are banners hanging in Tiger Gym with her sisters Heather (Rogers) Davis and Megan (Rogers) Chavez’s names on them from the 2000 state finalist team and the two banners from 2001 and 2002 regional finalist teams. Her sisters’ pictures are in the lobby of Tiger Gym.

Davis and Chavez are also regularly in the stands watching Audrei’s every game.

For Audrei, it’s a lot of pressure to live up to, but it’s a legacy she fully understands.

“They made it to state, so when we lose I usually will get calls from my sisters,” Audrei said. “They left a legacy here.”

The Smithville Lady Tigers (9-19, 3-3 District 23-3A) picked up a big win Tuesday over Caldwell to move them to 3-3 in district play, before another big game Friday at home against Rockdale, a team that defeated Smithville by one-point in the first round.

The Lady Tigers needed to win Friday to keep the playoff hopes, and the Rogers legacy, alive.

Should Smithville have lost that game to Rockdale, the Lady Tigers’ chances of reaching the playoffs for the 19th consecutive year would be slim, if not gone completely.

“If we don’t make the playoffs, there will always be something left unaccomplished,” Audrei said. “We will all feel like we let the community and school down.”

Head coach Robin Ramsay is trying to keep things in perspective for Smithville, which is still has a decent chance to keep the playoff streak alive.

Ramsay said she recently talked to the team about letting go of the pressure and just have fun.

“It’s really hard on them,” she said. “Every one of these girls cares about the streak and understands the tradition. I had to tell them to just get that off their shoulders and be a team. It’s not going to kill me if the streak ends. I just want them to develop as a team and reach their potential, whatever that may be.”

It has been an up-and-down season for Smithville, which was coming off back-to-back wins going into Friday’s game with Rockdale.

The streak has never been in more jeopardy in the last 18 years, but there is still hope and work left to be done.

Rockdale only defeated Smithville 34-33 in their first meeting on Jan. 10 in Rockdale.

Should the Lady Tigers have defeated Rockdale Friday, they could go into their final game against La Grange on Feb. 7 needing only to win to keep the streak alive. Theycould also defeat one of the district powerhouses – Giddings and Navasota –in the next two games.

Smithville just defeated La Grange 46-39 on Jan. 20 at Tiger Gym.

“We have to be cautious with Rockdale,” Ramsay said. “It’s a big game.”

The Lady Tigers are coming off a trip to the regional semifinals in 2011, but the bulk of that team did graduate and this young group, which features mainly juniors and sophomores, has had a roller coaster of a season.

As for Audrei, who is the only player with siblings that have played on previous Smithville teams, the Rogers legacy will always sit in the back of her mind, and anything less than keeping the streak going will be a disappointment for her.

“We have to get there,” she said. “If we don’t, it’s going to be a huge let-down for this community. We want to keep that streak going.”

Smithville’s Audrei Rogers (21) defends a Caldwell player Tuesday during a basketball game at Tiger Gym. Rogers is the third of three siblings to play basketball for the Lady Tigers. Her sisters Heather and Megan were a part of the 2000 team that reached the Class 3A finals. (Larry Overall/ For the Bastrop Advertiser)

The victim this time was the district-leading Elgin Wildcats, who came into the game with only one district loss, but left with two, falling 55-51.

The Cougars suffered through shooting woes in the early going and found themselves down 17-6 following a 10-0 run by the Wildcats.

During the period, twins Troy and Trey Nash were dominant for the Wildcats. Offensively, the Cougars struggled shooting the ball and finished the quarter shooting 31 percent from the field.

In the second quarter, the Cougars came back behind the inspired play of their bench. Halfway through the period with the Cougars trailing 25-15, coach Marshall Sanders’ second unit went on a 9-0 run to make the score 25-24.

The group was led by the play of junior post Andrew Hill, who scored six points during the stretch, including an exciting 3-point play.

At the beginning of the third quarter, the Wildcats quickly tied the game at 33-33 after back-to-back 3-pointers from Trey Nash and Te’Rel Simmons.

The Wildcats regained the lead at 37-33 following two free throws by Trey Nash and a layup from Troy Nash.

However, the Cougars bench again closed the quarter strong with a  6-0 run, as Joseph Edwards, Xavier Malveaux and Andrew Hill scored baskets to make the score 39-37.

After a Wildcats free throw to start the final period made the score 39-38, Edwards scored for the Cougars on a transition lay-up to give the Cougars a 41-38.

Later in the quarter, the Cougars went on a 7-1 run, capped off after a Riddick assist to Breion Evans that gave them a 49-42 lead.

The Wildcats got to within two points at 53-51 after Troy Nash converted a 3-point play with 35 seconds to play.

However, the Cougars iced the game late with two Marcel Pimpton free throws.
– Eric McDonald

Manor 83, Cedar Creek 46
MANOR ¬– With Elgin’s loss to Connally, the Manor Mustangs were able to tie for the lead in District 16-4A after defeating Cedar Creek 83-46 Tuesday.

The win, accompanied by Elgin’s loss to Connally, puts the two rivals in a dead heat for the district championship with five games left in the regular season.

Cedar Creek (5-25, 0-11) were unable to match up with Manor’s athleticism as the Mustangs opened the game with an 18-6 lead after the first quarter.

Manor (9-2 District 16-4A) widened an 18-point lead at halftime in the third quarter, outscoring the Eagles 27-13 in the period.

Kyle Spencer led Cedar Creek with 16 points while Marcus Perez added 12 and Zach Daniel had nine.

Other scorers for Cedar Creek were Jose Vasquez (2), Jose Cantu (1), Michael Vallejo (2), Ronnie Hattlet (1) and Josh Castor (3).

Smithville 49, Caldwell 38
CALDWELL – Smithville moved into a tie for second place in District 23-3A Tuesday, defeating Caldwell 49-38 at Hornet Gym.

Smithville (15-8, 3-1) sits a game behind Navasota (4-0 District 23-3A) in the standings as the first round of play wrapped up Friday night.

Caldwell kept the game close in the first quarter, trailing by two to start the second period.

The Tigers extended their lead to eight by halftime and held on to pick up the win.

Joe Crank led Smithville with 15 points and nine rebounds while Coltyn Brown completed a double double with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Smithville demolished Caldwell 64-28 in a game that was never in doubt at Tiger Gym.

The Lady Tigers (9-19, 3-3 District 23-3A) started a 12-0 run after Caldwell scored the first point of the game.

The run started with a pair of free throws from Maygan Washington and culminated with a layup from Valerie Harmon.

Free-throw shooting would be key for Smithville, as the Lady Tigers were 7-of-10 from the charity stripe for the night.

Six of Taryn Leiferman’s game-high 18 points came from put-backs by the junior post.

By the end of the first quarter, Caldwell found itself in an 11-point hole, one Smithville just kept making deeper.

The Lady Tigers extended the game on a three-point play from Harmon, who had seven points in the contest, before Leiferman kept addingsalt to the wounds of the Lady Hornets.

Leiferman made a three midway through the second quarter and helped extend the lead to nearly 20 points after earning three points the hard way.

Smithville called off the dogs toward the end of the first half as Caldwell trailed by 13 at halftime.

The Lady Tigers started firing on all cylinders in the third quarter as Trina Deyo rolled off six straight as part of a 8-0 run early in the period.

Shelby Davee, who scored all eight of her points in the second half, continued the run off a Caldwell turnover as Smithville led by 19 going into the fourth period.

The Lady Tigers kept rolling in the final quarter and outscored the Lady Hornets 22-5 by closing the period on a 17-0 run that featured a three from Audrei Rogers and Madison Hannusch’s back-to-back field goals to close the game.

“We needed a game like that to loosen up,” said head coach Robin Ramsay. “We have been so uptight about this streak it was nice to finally see them relaxed.”

Connally 55, Elgin 35
ELGIN – The Elgin Lady Cats were officially eliminated from playoff contention Tuesday after falling to Connally 55-35 at Wildcat Gym.

The Lady Cougars (19-12, 9-3) jumped out to a 14-5 lead by the end of the first quarter and Elgin struggled to get back in the game.

Connally led 30-15 at halftime, but Elgin did get to within nine before the start of the final quarter.

Cynthia Cowan led Elgin with 17 points while Shaqualla Franklin and Lee Ann Nash contributed seven points each.

Cedar Ridge 68, Bastrop 26
The Bastrop Lady Bears were held to seven points in the first half as Cedar Ridge built a 33-7 lead by halftime and cruised to a 68-26 win at Bear Gym Tuesday.

Alexis Arevalo led Bastrop with seven points as Addison Semer and Brittany Reed each added six.

Other scorers for Bastrop were Magen Cavazos (4) and Taylor Seitz (4).

The Lady Bears have upgraded their facilities and after a successful first year for head coach Greg Horn, Bastrop’s softball team has the realistic expectation of making the playoffs.

“When I got here, I wanted to change the culture and set that expectation to being able to compete,” Horn said. “(Last year) we held the lead against every district team when we played them, with the exception of a 0-0 tie with Elgin. If we can get to the playoffs, it will be a step in the right direction.”

Bastrop is hoping to come out from the shadow of its neighbor to the north (Elgin).

District 16-4A expanded this season with the additions of Cedar Creek and Cedar Ridge, which is expected to contend for the district title.

There is still a high level of competition with Elgin, which has won three straight district titles, Hendrickson, Connally and Hutto.

While the playoffs are a goal of the Lady Bears, there is one match-up circled on the schedule the team cannot wait to play – a pair of dates with Elgin on March 13 at Elgin and April 13 in Bastrop.

“Our big goal is to beat Elgin,” said senior pitcher Lillian Raemsch. “As a team, we played our best game against them last year even though we lost 1-0. We have always had a really big rivalry with them, so a win would be huge.”

Horn said if his team could beat the Lady Cats it would be a huge step in changing the culture of the program.

“When I got here, all I heard was ‘you have to beat Elgin,’” he said. “A win over a program like that would really turn the heads of our community towards us.”

Raemsch pitched one of her best games in the 1-0 loss to Elgin, where there wasn’t an earned run scored in that game.

She kept the big bats of the Lady Cats silent, although former catcher Hillary Adams did almost jack one of Raemsch’s pitches over the left field fence.

A win over the Central Texas powerhouse would be nice for Bastrop, but it would just be a small part in the ultimate goal of reaching the postseason for the first time in six years.

After Hendrickson had to forfeit numerous games due to playing an ineligible player, Bastrop finished fifth in the district standings behind Hutto, just one win away from snapping that postseason drought.

Horn and Raemsch both said a trip to the playoffs would be the turning point for the culture of Bastrop softball.

“We are right there,” Raemsch said. “In the past, I think a lot of people looked at us like, ‘oh, it’s just Bastrop.’ Coach Horn came in and has kept us positive and keeps telling us that we can beat any team we play.”

Horn added, “Winning breeds winning. If we can make the playoffs it’s going to help getting the younger kids involved in our program and change the culture at the school.”

Bastrop players and coaches took the first step in changing the culture with an upgrade to the team’s facilities.

During the postseason, the team constructed a brick backdrop behind home plate with black netting and rebuilt the fence in the outfield with a maroon cover.

A new scoreboard will be delivered in the next few weeks, according to Horn, and there are plans to construct all brick dugouts.

Horn said all the work has been done by his players and parents with the help of donations from the community and fundraisers.

“It gives them a sense of pride,” Horn said. “The girls worked hard on that and it means something to them.”

The changes are also just a small step in what Raemsch said will help her and the senior class leave a legacy with Bastrop softball.

“My dad has always been behind me and my mother has just been awesome with supporting me in softball,” Raemsch said. “It would feel good to make them proud.”

Bastrop opens its softball season on Feb. 14 at home against Salado. The first pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.

Bastrop pitcher Lillian Raemsch, seen in action during the 2011 season, hopes to leave her legacy on the Bastrop softball program this season with a trip to the postseason for the first time in six years. (Larry Overall/ File photo)

PRESEASON ALL-BASTROP COUNTY SOFTBALL TEAM
C: Randi Smith, Soph., Smithville
2011 Bastrop Co. Newcomer of the Year, .328 BA, .448 SLG%, 8 R, 5 RBIs, 3 3B.

1B: Becca Roe, Soph., Bastrop
2011 first-team All-Bastrop Co., .297 BA, .324 SLG%. 9 R, 6 RBIs, 1 2B, 7 3B.

2B: Bailey Alanis, Sr., Elgin
2011 Bastrop Co. batting champion, Gold Glove winner, .427 BA, 1.00 Fielding %; 14 R, 15 RBis, 6 2Bs, 3 3Bs, committed to ETBU.

SS: Kaci Olson, Sr., Elgin
2011 first-team All-Bastrop Co., .333 BA, .427 SLG%, 28 R, 10 RBIs, 5 2Bs, 3 3Bs, committed to St. Edwards.

3B: Shelbi Swenson, Sr., Elgin
2011 first-team All-Bastrop Co. .304 BA, .413 SLG%, 23 R, 27 RBIs, 5 2Bs, 1 HR, committed to Tyler JUCO.

OF: Morgan Schultz, Sr., Elgin
2011 first-team All-Bastrop Co., .319 BA, 12 Rs, 8 RBIs, 3 2Bs, 1 HR, .409 SLG%.

OF: Chelsea Everage, Sr., Elgin
2011 All-Bastrop Co. honorable mention, .242 BA, .253 SLG%, 14 Rs, 7 RBIs.

OF: Trina Deyo, Jr., Smithville
2011 first-team All-Bastrop Co., .342 BA, .405 OBP, .421 SLG%, 8 R, 3 2Bs, RBI.

P: Lillian Raemsch, Sr., Bastrop
2011 All-Bastrop Co. honorable mention, 7.56 ERA, 6 wins, 86 strikeouts, 140.7 innings pitched

Elgin 2B Bailey Alanis (file photo)