Jarrell hadn?t beaten Troy until the two became District 25-2A rivals this year.
Today, those teams will battle in regular-season finales.
Belton?s Lady Tigers travel to Temple to face the Tem-Cats in a 7 p.m. duel of playoff-bound teams, and Jarrell?s Lady Cougars head to Troy for a 6 p.m. clash to determine the 25-2A championship.
The Temple-Belton game shouldn?t have much of an effect on the district standings.
The Tem-Cats (11-13 overall, 6-5 in 13-5A) are locked into the fourth and final playoff spot, while the Lady Tigers (18-7, 9-2) will finish in second place - alone if they win, or likely tied with College Station A&M Consolidated if they lose. If Belton and Consol tie, the two will meet in a playoff for seeding Monday at a site to be determined.
?We know it?s always a big game against Temple,? Belton coach Mariann DeShazer said. ?Every game is a big game to us. We have to play solid defense and our pitching has to continue to be strong.
?I approach it like any other game, but the kids approach it different because it is Temple.?
The Tem-Cats more than likely will send senior Tressie Keilman to the circle - coach Linda Grisham was not available for comment. Keilman was the winning pitcher the last time Temple beat Belton, a 4-3 win in 2005 when she struck out 11 batters in a three-hitter. DeShazer said she wasn?t sure if Courtney Gaines or Brynn Steger would start.
In three games since Temple?s last win over Belton, the Lady Tigers won by a combined 18-1, most recently 3-0 at home.
In 25-2A, Jarrell (17-4, 12-1) and Troy (23-2, 11-2) will play with much more on the line - a district championship.
The Lady Cougars would claim the outright title with a win and the Trojanettes would finish third behind Rogers (21-3, 11-2) - assuming the Lady Eagles beat Academy (4-26, 2-11).
If Troy wins, that would create a three-way tie for first, with each team having split the season series with each another. Coaches Bobby Cervenka of Troy and Liz Boyd of Jarrell said a decision has been reached about what would happen in the event of a three-way tie, but neither would say how the tie would be broken until after tonight?s game.
Both Troy (Region II) and Jarrell (IV) reached the regional final round last year before losing. The Trojanettes advanced to the Class 2A state final in 2005 and lost to Elysian Fields.
?We?re looking at it like a playoff game,? Cervenka said of playing Jarrell. ?It?s good for us, especially with (Mallory Cantler) pitching. It?s a challenge, and we should be up to it.?
With Jarrell getting at least a share of the title win or lose tonight, Boyd said her team is relaxed.
?They know what they are capable of, and they know Troy is beatable,? Boyd said. ?Even if we do lose, we?ll be satisfied with being co-champs. But of course we want to win.?
Troy will send Michelle Ege (18-2) to the circle while Jarrell counters with fellow senior Cantler (17-4). Cantler brings in an earned-run average of better than 0.35, while Ege?s is better than 1.30.
Cantler and the Lady Cougars were 1-0 winners in the teams? first meeting in Jarrell. They were aided by some uncharacteristic Trojanette play - an error and a walk in the first inning led to the run.
?We?re going to go in with same mindset we?ve had all year,? Boyd said. ?We know we need our bats to work. We just have to hope we put the ball in play and move runners when we have a chance.?
ecarifio@temple-telegram.com
