SUNDOWN — Nayleen Morin admitted Sudan didn’t have Sundown’s full attention entering Game 2 of their bi-district playoff softball series. That can happen after a 27-1 victory in the opener.
It didn’t take long for the Roughettes to realize Saturday would be anything but a walkover. Fortunately for them, the reality check didn’t come at the expense of a loss.
It was a reminder nothing will be handed to Sundown just because it’s the reigning state champion of Class 2A Division II.
“Don’t think that we’re just gonna go and win it again,” Morin said. “We have to go game by game, and we just have to take it slowly. We can’t rush.”
The Roughettes (23-3) returned seven starters from their upstart championship squad. The program had never advanced past the third round of playoffs before last season, which ended with a 9-3 win over perennial power Shiner.
Despite the low roster turnover, Sundown coach Meagan Gonzales said this group is unique. She said it’s important the team focuses on its own story, rather than last year’s.
“You can’t make it like the 2025 season,” Gonzales said. “There’s no way. It’s a completely different team with different personalities and different roles. Your underclassmen are now in leadership roles. Going into (the playoffs), we try to just talk about how we’re going to be us, the 2026 team, and go chase our goals, not so much what we did in the past.”
Those seasoned players are making noise similar to last season, though. The Roughettes again pack a dangerous lineup, tallying 32 hits in nine innings to sweep Sudan. Morin led the way with four hits in the 10-5 clincher in Game 2 and totaled seven for the series. Every Sundown starter recorded a hit over the two games.
Breigh Gregory picked up the Game 2 win with no earned runs allowed. She’s part of the same 1-2 pitching punch with Destiny Garza that navigated the Roughettes through the postseason a year ago.
But the new puzzle pieces are also playing a part. Right-fielder Jaelyn Dominguez belted two home runs out of the No. 9 hole in Game 1. She and fellow sophomore Avy McGlasson are the lone newcomers to the Sundown lineup. McGlasson had four hits and two RBIs in the series.
“Avy and Jaelyn battled hard in the count,” Gonzales said, “walked for us a couple times today and had some good, tough at-bats. That showed some promising things for me.”
Gonzales said her task is to get the team to play loose, “like there’s nothing to lose.” She knows the Roughettes have gotten every team’s best shot as the reigning champ, and that will only increase in the postseason. Having to climb out of a 4-0 hole after four errors in the opening frame, Game 2 showed Sundown it’s still got work to do, Gonzales said.
And that’s a good thing.
“I think (Saturday) showed us what we need to work on still, which is good,” Gonzales said. “You don’t want to find out too late in the season that you didn’t cover something that we should have early on. Super pleased with what we had to do today and how we handled it. Now we know what we need to work on.”
The Roughettes will get their next chance to improve in the area round against Gruver, a program they swept with run-rule victories in the same round a year ago. Sundown’s path could include two other playoff opponents from 2025, with Haskell and Stamford still alive.
However similar the journey, the seniors hope it ends with the same feeling.
“I love that they still love to be around each other,” Gonzales said. “Love that they still want to be out here. It’s gonna be a tough time when school is winding down and your classmates are getting to leave and you still have to stay dedicated to what we’re doing. I think this is a good group to do that.”
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Sundown softball looks to write own story in state title repeat bid
Reporting by Stephen Garcia, Lubbock Avalanche-Journal / Lubbock Avalanche-Journal
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