J. FRANK DOBIE SOFTBALL TEAM

The 1993 J. Frank Dobie High School softball team will always be in the Texas University Interscholastic League history books as the inaugural UIL State Fastpitch Softball Tournament champions. This team not only made state history, but also set the expectation for future Dobie softball teams. Although the team came home with the gold, there were several challenges along the way.

The Team

Coming into the 1993 season, softball was still a fresh face in the world of high school sports. The majority of the first ever Dobie High School softball team from ‘92 were back to compete for the first official UIL softball season. Although the team was comprised of a majority of freshmen and sophomore players, it was known to have a lot of depth and talent with a background in competitive fastpitch softball. It also had the much needed leadership of seniors Robin Rackley and Shannon McDonald, in addition to freshman pitcher Christa Williams who was up and coming on the fastpitch softball scene.

With the 1992 season, Coach Martha Dossman stepping down to work on her master’s degree, the team was left with a leadership gap that was not easy to replace. The Lady Longhorns almost missed competing that season with the coaching position still open during the year. Thankfully, a Dobie staff member volunteered just in time. However the lack of experience and background knowledge of competitive fastpitch softball created a gap that needed to be filled if the team was going to be competitive. Therefore, seniors Robin Rackly and Shannon McDonald stepped up and ran practices, created line-ups, and basically coached the team. The freshmen and sophomore players trusted and respected their senior leadership and followed their lead. Although this scenario was not ideal the first official year of softball being a UIL sport, it did build the character and determination needed to get to the state tournament as a team. As the Lady Longhorns made their way through post season playoffs, the 1993 season coach was removed and replaced by Coach Martha Dossman who was able to come back to help the team finish off the ‘93 softball season to state.

District Play

With the ‘93 season opening up in the newly formed 5A District 18, the Lady Longhorns had to place first or second in district to participate in post-season playoffs. Incurring one loss mid-year put the team in a good position, however they lost two district games late in the season against Texas City (0-5) and South Houston (2-3). This left the team waiting and watching the outcomes of other district teams to determine if they would have a chance to fight for a spot in playoffs. Due to how the rest of the season played out for other teams, the Lady Longhorns were tied with Deer Park in their last game of district play for the second place district position. Deer Park had home field advantage as well as a team with a lot of seniors. To win the second place spot and move on to playoffs, the Longhorns had to beat the Lady Deers back to back. The Lady Longhorns were able to bring a huge upset with a 1-0 win for the first game and a 4-0 win in the second game.

Post Season Play

After a rough road to the number two spot in District 18, the Lady Longhorns closed out Angleton (8-0), League City Clear Creek (1-0), and Freeport Brazoswood (6-0) to land them a spot in the state tournament.

Presented by: