Sam Houston Softball Semi-Finals Preview

Lake Charles, LA (KPLC) - The Sam Houston Lady Broncos had an impressive 2023 regular season as they earned a three-seed in the Non-Select Division I State Playoff tournament, and the Broncos have continued to be impressive so far in the State Playoffs.

After receiving a bye in the Bi-District round, the Lady Broncos beat 19th-seeded Haughton 14-1 in five innings in the Regional round and then beat sixth-seeded Haughton 4-1 in the Quarterfinals, which earned the Lady Broncos a spot in the Semi-Finals on Friday, putting them just one win away from competing for a State Championship.

“It’s been crazy, I mean we’ve worked all year for this, obviously I’m just proud of everybody, there’s still a lot of work to be done, so I think this week has just been about getting our focus right, we’ve come a long way for sure, so this week, it’s a big week for us and we’ve been waiting for this for a while, so it’s a big deal,” said Sam Houston’s Lexi Dibbley.

Dibbley has played a huge part in Sam Houston’s run to the semi-finals, both in the circle pitching for the Lady Broncos and also getting it done at the plate, Dibbley has started both playoff games for Sam Houston against Haughton, and Walker, and at the plate, she hit a home run against Haughton, and also drove in an RBI against Walker.

Dibbley is one of seven seniors for the Lady Broncos, and head coach Beth Domingue says that’s who she wants to win a State Title for, “I just want it for the senior group, I don’t want it for anything else other than for them, you know, for them to experience that and, I know that’s something that has always been in the back of their minds, and I just know it would be a great way to go out and nobody deserves it more than them.”

Thanks to the fact that they were the three-seed in their bracket, the Lady Broncos were the higher-ranked team in each of their two games up to this point, but on Friday in Sulphur when they take on second-seeded Live Oak, that will not be the case, but Sam Houston doesn’t see themselves as the underdogs.

“Absolutely not, no, we’re going to go in full force, give it everything we’ve got, we’re ready for them so no, we don’t see ourselves as underdogs,” said Dibbley.

“No, what are we ranked? I don’t even know, I feel like once we get to playoffs it’s a whole new season, everybody is 0-0 so we’ve got to win from here on out, none of the preseason, or during the season matters, it’s a whole new ballgame now so no, nobody’s even talked about that,” said Domingue about whether or not they see themselves as underdogs.

Sam Houston’s Semi-Final matchup with Live Oak is set for Friday at 2:30 at North Frasch Softball Complex’s Field 13.

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