Mules senior Amanda Armendariz beats the tag at home in the sixth inning to begin the Lady Mules come-from-behind rally over Calallen March 13.  The Lady Mules scored two more runs in the bottom of the seventh inning to top Calallen, 5-4. Photo by Marvin Pfeiffer

After a disappointing second-round exit in last year’s playoffs, the Alamo Heights Lady Mules Varsity softball team is ready to take their game to the next level.

“Our goal is to make it to the tournament and win it all,” said head coach Tim Stuewe. “That’s the ultimate goal. We felt like we had the team to do it last year and got tripped up in the second round. You can’t lose in the playoffs.”

Count that as a lesson learned. The Lady Mules won the District 27-4A championship last year, beating eventual state champion Boerne twice in the process. They were 23-8 overall and 9-1 in district.

Stuewe, in his eighth year at the school and sixth as head coach, brings back a veteran squad in 2008.

“We’ve got a lot of experience and we all have high expectations for this season,” Stuewe said. “We’ve got a lot of returning letterman. We have six seniors and the majority of the lineup are at least two-year lettermen. A lot of the seniors have been on the varsity team all four years.”

The Lady Mules return both starting pitchers, juniors Maddie Anes and Callie Caesar, and boast an offense that can score with the best of them.

Sporting a predominately senior-filled infield, Amber Sotelo is at catcher, Barbara Baugh plays second base, Amanda Brightwell is at shortstop and Kim Rolfs plays third base. Carey Nowacek, a junior, plays first base and catcher and Caesar plays second when she’s not pitching.

When she isn’t pitching, Anes plays in the outfield, and is joined there by senior Emily Jackson, junior Courtney Carr and sophomore Emily Archer, one of the two sophomores to make the team.

Senior Amanda Armendariz, and Natalie Weyand, the other sophomore, round out the roster. Armendariz plays second base and outfield, while Weyand is a pitcher.

The Lady Mules are currently dealing with several injured players. Carr, the leadoff hitter and starting center fielder, and Anes are still out with injuries. Stuewe hopes to get Carr back this week in time for district play.

Despite the nagging injuries, Alamo Heights is currently 14-7 on the season as of press time. They took first place in the Alamo Heights Varsity Tournament earlier this month, winning five of the six games they played.

“I’m pleased with our start and real happy with our hitting,” Stuewe said. “I think that’s been one of our strong suits – we’re able to put some runs on the board this year.”

Stuewe said the Lady Mules have what it takes to go all the way this year.

“They’ve played this game long enough, and played together long enough,” Stuewe said. “They believe in each other and they know what it takes to win. They’re a very sound group and they know it’s not over until the final out is made.”