Como-Pickton Finishes Historic Season As State Runner Up
The No. 2 ranked Como-Pickton Lady Eagles’ historic run came to an end Wednesday night, after falling in the State Championship game. The Lady Eagles’ trip to the State Tournament was just the second time in program history and the first since 1999.
Como-Pickton’s journey to State was a historic one, building the best record in the entire State by going 37-2. The Lady Eagles were close to perfect in the regular season, going 29-2 and continually improving their game along the way.
By the time the postseason arrived, Coach Trevor Wallace and his team were firing on all cylinders, and had earned the No. 2 spot in the Texas Girls Coaches Association State Softball Poll. In the postseason Como-Pickton continued to roll, making their way to the State Tournament by going 8-0 and outscoring their opponents by a combined score of 70-6.
Now at the State Tournament, the best-of-three series’ were out the window, and Como-Pickton would have to get the job done in one-game set’s. Their first test came against No.4 ranked Stamford in the State Semifinal.
The Lady Eagles positioned themselves well, scoring three runs in the bottom of the first and giving ace Mattison Buster a nice lead to work with. After a pair of shutout innings, Como-Pickton would add another three runs in the bottom of the fourth, extending their lead to 6-0.
The Lady Eagles added another run in the bottom of the fifth before allowing one in the sixth, winning the game by a final score of 7-1 and advancing to the State Championship.
In the State Championship they would be paired against the No. 3 ranked Weimar Lady Cats, who got to the final by taking down No. 1 ranked Crawford. The State Final opened with both teams plating a run in the opening frame, setting the tone for a tough-fought battle.
After a scoreless second inning, Como-Pickton opened the third by scoring a pair of runs to push their lead to 3-1. Weimar cut into the deficit in the bottom of the inning, scoring a run on an RBI double to stay within one run.
Both teams were silent in the fourth before Weimar could tie things up in the bottom of the fifth, scoring an unearned run to make the game 3-3. Como-Pickton had a runner in scoring position to start the sixth inning, when Judah Van Rijn hit a one-out double, though she would end up being stranded on third.
Still going solid, Buster was able to sit the side down in order in the bottom of the frame, getting a pair of ground outs and a strikeout.
In the seventh inning the Lady Eagles were again able to get a runner in scoring position, after Weimar intentionally walked Buster, who was 3-for-3 on the day with a pair of doubles. Courtesy runner Sanay Diaz was able to steal second, but was unable to find her way home, keeping the game tied going into the bottom of the seventh.
Buster opened the bottom of the seventh by forcing a ground out to Bella Romero at short, but the Lady Cats of Weimar were able to get the game-winning run on base with a one-out single.
During the next at-bat the runner was able to advance to second on a passed ball, putting the State-winning run in scoring position. Buster was able to get the next batter to pop out to herself for the second out of the inning, before intentionally walking the next batter, setting up a force at any base. 
With the pressure on, Weimar quickly found themselves down 0-2 in the count, but didn’t let it get to them. After taking a ball, they sent the 1-2 pitch to left field, walking the game off with a State-winning double.
The loss was the first for the Lady Eagles since March 4, when they fell to the hands of Franklin, who finished as Regional Finalists in 3A. Como-Pickton’s historic season came to an end, with them as State Runner Up, marking just the second time in program history they made it to the State Tournament.
The Lady Eagles also not only finished as the No. 2 team in the state, after being ranked as such for a huge majority of the season, but also finished with the second best record in the State of Texas and even finishing with the best winning percentage in the State.
This historic season for Como-Pickton comes after a pair of amazing season’s to start the 2020’s. Over the last three years the Lady Eagles have amassed a combined record of 101-11-1, giving them a winning percentage just shy of .900 in the time span and winning 30 or more games in each season.
