The City View Lady Mustangs perfectly portray the unpredictable nature of District 8-3A softball.
Entering Tuesday, the Lady Mustangs were in a three-way tie for second place and only a game out of first. At the same time, they were only one game ahead of Jacksboro, Holliday and Boyd, meaning a couple losses could drop them to seventh.
It's pretty much the same story for six of the seven other teams in the district. Nothing is decided in 8-3A with three games to play.
“A lot can happen with three games to play,” said City View coach Charlie Stone, whose Lady Mustangs picked up a 10-0 win against Bowie on Tuesday. “Coming into (Tuesday) we were one win out of first and two losses from being in seventh. This was a big win (against Bowie). I've been telling the girls that every next game is the biggest one.”
The Lady Mustangs have felt the erratic sting of 8-3A. They looked like district favorites when they opened with three straight wins only to lose their next three games and fall in the standings. City View committed a total of 20 errors in those three losses.
“We're an extremely young team,” Stone said. “We've only got two seniors starting in the field for us. It's kind of been hit and miss for us. We'll play three good innings then have one bad inning. We just continue to focus on trying to get better every single day. Our girls come to work and try to get better.”
City View's defense has improved and it has won four of five. The lone loss was a 10-0 shellacking handed to them by Henrietta, which has become a different type of threat in the district since sophomore Haleigh Hogan took over in the circle.
The recent surge has City View (16-6, 7-4) now sitting in a tie with Henrietta (12-9, 7-4) for second place and just a game back of first-place Paradise (15-6, 8-3), which City View plays Tuesday. Those defensive woes seem to be behind the Lady Mustangs and it has allowed sophomore pitcher Maddie Chalenburg to shine in the circle.
Chalenburg has give up just seven hits and one run in the last two games combined and the Lady Mustangs have committed just two errors behind her with neither leading to runs.
“As a pitcher, I don't have a choice but to have complete faith in my defense,” Chalenburg said. “I trust every single one of the girls behind me. We have had it rough with a couple of bumps along the way, but altogether I trust everyone that's behind me.”
Chalenburg has pitched 121 2/3 innings this season, posting a 16-5 record. She has an ERA of 2.01 and struck out 140 batters compared to just 27 walks. Stone compares her with the elite pitchers of the area.
“We've got some really good pitchers in the area,” Stone said. “Jade Guzman out in Vernon and Lindy (Alexander) in Petrolia and there are others. I know those girls are good, but I put Maddie right up there with all of them and she's only a sophomore. She's really gotten it rolling the last few games and when she's pitching the way she is right now, then we're going to be hard to beat.”
The biggest difference for Chalenburg recently is her ability to locate her changeup for strikes.
“We call it 'The Devastator,” Stone said. “When she can throw it for a strike, she really puts the other team in a bind when it comes to them hitting the ball.”
Chalenburg was struggling to throw the changeup for a strike early in the season, but has worked hard to be more consistent with the pitch.
“It's always been a really hard pitch to throw for me because I throw one of the most difficult changeups,” said Chalenburg, who uses a flip-change rather than the more traditional circle-change. “It's really all about me just getting extra pitches in the bullpen and just calming down and actually throwing it.”
It's going to be a race to the finish in 8-3A, but City View believes it's got the right cast to finish near or even at the top of the district at the end of next week.