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Heritage always favored Bryan in the Crosstown Showdown softball series, but now A&M Consolidated has it.
Leadoff hitter Ashley Heritage capped an unlikely fifth-inning rally with a two-run triple and scored the winning run on an error as the Lady Tigers beat Bryan 3-2 at the Aggie Softball Complex on a bright Saturday afternoon.
Consol, which beat Bryan 2-1 in the first round, swept the season series from the Lady Vikings for the first time.
"Right now what it means is that we're still in the hunt for the district championship," Consol coach Billy Hicks said. "We still have work to do."
The Lady Tigers improved to 18-10 overall and 8-1 in District 13-5A. Consol can take sole possession of first place and climb into position to claim the outright championship with a win Tuesday against Belton, the only other 13-5A team with one league loss.
Defending district champion Bryan dropped to 16-12 and 6-3, falling two games behind the leaders with three league games remaining.
"Now we just need to focus on finishing third and going into the playoffs hot," Bryan coach Enrique Luna said. "We've got five games [two nondistrict] left to improve. We have to learn from this game."
For much of Saturday's game, the Lady Vikings seemed to be on their way to beating the Lady Tigers and setting up the possibility of a three-way tie for the district championship. Bryan scored in the third and fourth innings to grab a 2-0 lead that looked secure with pitcher Michelle Stratta controlling the Consol hitters.
Everything changed in the bottom of the fifth. Consol sophomore Jordan Berry slapped a leadoff single, and then the Lady Vikes committed two errors on freshman Dayton Kunz's sacrifice bunt, putting runners at first and third.
The next hitter popped out, giving Bryan fans a chance to exhale. Heritage then fell behind in the count 0-2 and fouled off three pitches before she cracked a liner to the fence in left-center.
Both runners scored easily to tie the game, and Heritage raced all the way around the bases when the center fielder had to reach down twice to pick up the ball.
"I was behind in the count and I was really, really nervous," Heritage said. "I knew that I didn't have the strength to do it. I was praying for the Lord to give me the strength. I threw the bat out there, the ball went and she bobbled. Everything worked for us."
Bryan paid a heavy price for making the only three errors of the game in the fifth. Two of the runs charged Stratta (9-6) were unearned.
"They didn't make mistakes, and that was the big difference," Luna said. "Unfortunately we made some in that one inning."
The Lady Vikings put at least one runner on base in every inning against Consol pitcher Jessica Chastka. Bryan took the lead in the third when Calli Wood bashed a two-out RBI double to center that even the speedy Heritage couldn't run down.
Bryan seemed to be taking control with another run in the fourth. Ashley Lara doubled, and a two-out double by freshman pinch hitter Taylor Boenker made it 2-0.
Chastka (13-5) worked out of trouble in the sixth and seventh innings. Lara reached on a one-out single and Chastka hit the next batter with a pitch in the sixth, but Chastka retired the next two hitters on routine fly balls.
In the seventh, Bryan put the potential tying and go-ahead runs into scoring position on a leadoff single by Kristin Lara and a hitter batter and stolen base. Chastka struck out the next batter to end the game.
"I think Jessica got stronger as the game went on," Hicks said. "I could see it in her eyes. This group of kids is pretty resilient. This team has really got a lot of heart."
• Larry Bowen's e-mail address is larry.bowen@theeagle.com.
Consol 3, Bryan 2
Bryan 001 100 0 -- 2 6 3
Consol 000 030 x -- 3 4 0
Jessica Chastka and Sarah Allison. Michelle Stratta and Calli Wood. W -- Chastka, 13-5. L -- Stratta, 9-6. 2B -- Bryan: Calli Wood, Ashley Lara, Taylor Boenker. 3B -- Consol: Ashley Heritage. Records: Consol 18-10, 8-1 in 13-5A; Bryan 16-12, 6-3. Time: 1:42. Next: Consol will host Belton at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday. Bryan will host Killeen Shoemaker at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
