April 16, 2003
By Christine Justice
San Antonio Express-News
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04/16/2003 12:00 AM
Coaches sometimes have set plans, other times they follow hunches.
Tuesday, St. Mary’s softball coach Donna Fields had a hunch.
After Kym Kling gave up only six hits in a 9-1 victory over Angelo State (40-8), Fields decided to send Kling back to the mound for the second game of Tuesday’s doubleheader.
Fields’ hunch paid off.
Kling pitched a no-hitter as the Rattlers defeated second-ranked Angelo State 8-0.
“I didn’t feel after the first game they had caught up with her,” Fields said. “The majority of the lineup was still uneasy.
“(Pitcher Amanda Bayless) was ready to go, but I got a gut feeling; sometimes as a coach you get a gut feeling and you go with it.
“Kym is in playoff prime and it is good to see.”
Aside from her performance on the mound, Kling (22-2) also came through offensively. Her three-run home run in the bottom of the fifth inning allowed the 10th-ranked Rattlers (38-10) to run-rule Angelo State a second time.
“I never thought we’d walk away with two eight-run rules,” Fields said. “Today built character.”
Said Kling: “I knew I could do it. I was ready to go, ready to do whatever coach asked me to.”
The no-hitter was Kling’s second of the season.
“My ball breaks a lot more when I’m tired,” Kling said. “The second game, my ball broke a lot more.”
In the two games, Kling struck out 10 batters and walked only one.
“I feel good, I pitched the game, but my team played solid defense,” Kling said. “They made a lot of great plays and it helps to know I have them behind me.”
Angelo State scored its only run of the day in the first inning of the first game.
But in the bottom of the same inning, Veronica Garcia’s two-run home run gave the Rattlers the lead.
“To sum it up,” Fields said, “sometimes the ball bounces our way, sometimes it bounces the other way.
“Today it bounced our way.”
cjustice@express-news.net