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BASTROP — The Bastrop Lady Bears varsity softball team wrapped up a historic season, finishing with a 13-1 record in district play to claim the program’s first-ever co-district championship.
The Lady Bears were anchored by a veteran group that included seven seniors, a class head coach Teressa Morgan credited as a driving force behind the team’s success.
“They have been a part of a growing program here at Bastrop and have been instrumental in helping build a solid foundation,” Morgan said. “Of the seven seniors, five are academic all-state athletes, and all of them earned academic all-district honors. The leadership they provided to the younger athletes was significant.”
Morgan also noted that part of the team’s success stemmed from her adapting her coaching style to better connect with a new generation of student-athletes. “As a coaching staff, we worked to incorporate competition into practice in a way that was both constructive and fun,” Morgan said. “We built in lots of game-like situations. The girls were constantly competing, so when game time came, they were ready, and we created a fun culture. It paid off in the long run.”
Bastrop faced early challenges, starting the season 4-5-2 before reeling off 11 straight wins. Their only district loss came in a narrow 11-10 contest against Crockett. The Lady Bears closed the regular season with dominant wins over Anderson and McCallum before falling to Hendrickson in a three-game bi-district playoff series.
At the plate, the team was led by senior Bailey Merritt and juniors Madison Perez and Lanie Coy, each of whom hit over .500. Sophomore Ella Greisenbeck led the pitching staff with a 4.36 ERA.
With seven senior starters departing, Morgan acknowledged that next season will be a rebuilding year. However, she’s optimistic about the future of the program.
“We’re going to be very young moving forward, so it will be a rebuilding year for us—but I’m excited for what that means,” she said. “It speaks to the community as a whole, who are rallying behind our athletics. We’ve been putting structures in place for success, and now those things are starting to come to pass.”
