Tia Warsop, Paris Johnson’s prolific base stealing has powered Lake Ridge’s run to state

MANSFIELD — Tia Warsop used to be a observe sprinter, working the 100 meters and 4×100 relay in center faculty.

When it got here time for highschool, she inquired about working observe, despite the fact that its season was similtaneously softball, which was her main sport.

“I asked, and they said no,” Warsop mentioned.

So she put her blazing pace to good use in one other approach. By changing into probably the most prolific base stealer within the Dallas space.

As the Mansfield Lake Ridge softball crew prepares to play within the state match for the primary time, Warsop has 56 stolen bases in 37 video games and has been caught solely thrice. The Oklahoma State pledge has 16 stolen bases and a .700 batting common in 9 playoff video games, displaying why she is ranked because the Sixteenth-best participant within the nation within the Class of 2023 by Extra Inning Softball.

“I just go for it,” mentioned Warsop, a 5-4 junior heart fielder who was named to Great Britain’s Under-22 nationwide crew final May. “I don’t hesitate, I don’t think about what could go wrong. I just think about stealing a base.”

Lake Ridge has 147 steals as a crew — a median of 4 per sport — and 14 gamers have a minimum of one steal. Texas Southern pledge Paris Johnson has stolen 45 bases in 47 makes an attempt, and Lake Ridge has been profitable on 91% of its stolen base makes an attempt, being caught solely 15 instances.

“I saw how much of an impact stealing actually makes, so I started to do it more to help the team and to use my speed to my advantage,” mentioned Johnson, a 5-5 junior left fielder who’s in her first yr at Lake Ridge after transferring from Louisiana. “The coaches believed in me, so I just had to believe in myself.”

Warsop and Johnson are always on base, with Warsop hitting .588 and proudly owning a .628 on-base proportion within the leadoff spot and Johnson hitting .557 with a .585 on-base proportion because the No. 2 hitter within the order. They have mixed for 150 hits, with 119 of these being singles, so there are many possibilities to steal.

Warsop and Johnson virtually all the time have the inexperienced mild to run, they usually have every scored 65 runs for a crew that averages 9.7 runs per sport. Six gamers have mixed for 38 steals within the playoffs, and Lake Ridge stole 35 consecutive bases with out being caught in its first eight playoff video games earlier than having a pair of runners thrown out within the ultimate sport of the regional ultimate sweep of The Woodlands.

“It starts with Tia and Paris, but pretty much throughout the lineup we’re able to take some bases and get some extra runs,” Lake Ridge coach Bobbi Cruff mentioned. “I think we catch a lot of people off guard with our speed. They can see it online, they can watch it on video. But until you are up against it, you just don’t realize how quick we are until sometimes it’s too late.”

State-tournament information might be in jeopardy when Lake Ridge (31-6) performs defending state champion Deer Park (40-4) in a Class 6A state semifinal at 7 p.m. Friday at Red and Charline McCombs Field in Austin. The Woodlands’ Sidney Salmans set state-tournament information within the UIL’s prime classification for many steals in a sport (4) and most steals in a match (5) in 2014, and that very same yr The Woodlands set the crew document for many steals in a state-tournament sport with 9.

Lake Ridge stole 9 bases in an 11-0 regional semifinal win over Cypress Ranch on May 19, and Warsop had 4 steals in a third-round playoff sport towards Killeen Harker Heights. Deer Park has allowed solely 12 stolen bases in its 11 playoff video games, but it surely additionally hasn’t thrown out any runners making an attempt to steal, in accordance to its GameChanger field scores.

Lake Ridge is attempting to match the accomplishment of its women observe crew, which received a crew state championship in 2018. Just like that crew, Lake Ridge wins with its pace.

“We’re a small-ball team. We don’t hit very many home runs,” Warsop mentioned. “But that always works better. It puts pressure on the defense.”

Lake Ridge was an underdog coming into the playoffs — it wasn’t in The Dallas Morning News’ ultimate space rankings — however its gamers believed an extended postseason run was potential.

At the tip of every observe, the gamers come collectively and yell, “State Ridge.”

“Back in September, when we started offseason, they broke that out,” Cruff mentioned. “I told them, if you say it, you had better mean it. Well, here we are. No one expected us to be here, except for us.”

Running wild

The prime 5 base stealers on the Mansfield Lake Ridge crew:

On Twitter: @DMNGregRiddle

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