NEDERLAND — The Nederland Lady Bulldogs know this week’s opponent is going to be a tough out.
Coach Will Mallette and his team wouldn’t have it any other way.
Nederland faces Fort Bend Ridge Point in the Class 5A Region III area round in a three-game series starting at 6 p.m. Friday at Goose Creek Memorial High School in Baytown. Game 2 is scheduled for 30 minutes after Game 1 and Game 3, if necessary, is at 2 p.m. Saturday back at Goose Creek.
Ridge Point (21-5) comes into the series after knocking off Richmond Foster in two games, 4-2 and 4-0. Nederland (25-9) defeated Dayton, 5-2, last week in a one-game playoff.
“You can’t expect to reach the second round and face a subpar team,” Mallette said. “This is what you prepare for. The longer you go the better the teams you face. If you prepare scared for someone you set yourself up for failure.”
This is the first time in the last three years the Lady Bulldogs have got out the first round. Nederland lost to Kingwood Park in three games last year and was eliminated in three games two seasons ago by Dayton.
Junior left fielder Kassidy Litchfield did not know what a playoff victory tasted like until this past weekend’s 5-2 win over Dayton.
“We have worked really hard to get to where we are,” Litchfield said. “It is an achievement to still be out here playing with such a good team and my best friends. Everyone last year expected us to go far. That loss pushed us to want to go farther this year. My grade level has not gone two rounds in the playoffs and we wanted to make sure that happened.”
Nederland is currently riding an eight-game winning streak. The Lady Bulldogs have not lost since a 6-5 to Vidor on April 1. Nederland finished with a share of the District 22-5A championship and defeated Port Neches-Groves 5-1 last Tuesday to take the top seed heading into the postseason.
Ridge Point has won four straight games and last lost 4-3 to Santa Fe in District 23-5A action. Santa Fe won the district title with a 14-0 record and Ridge Point was second at 10-2.
“Any team can be beat,” Litchfield said. “You have to go in with the correct mindset to beat a team like this. You have to practice hard and focus on the things we need to improve on.”
Mallette said his team is playing with a lot of confidence right now and that has been a difference in several games.
“The past two years we got knocked out in the first round by really good teams,” Mallette said. “It is tough to lose in the first round when you know you have a really good team. Our momentum keeps building right now and the more it goes the more this team believes this team can’t be beat. It is not being cocky but it is the confidence they have right now.”