Donya Mooney: Dallas High Yield Coach of the Week presented by Capital One Bank

Sole possession of the District 7-5A softball lead looked to be slipping away from Mansfield Timberview (Arlington) in Friday's showdown with Mansfield High.

Trailing 3-1 going into the bottom of the sixth, Timberview coach Donya Mooney saw a rare sign of doubt from freshman star pitcher Mariah Denson coming back to the dugout. Touched for six hits — including four for extra bases — through six innings, a frustrated Denson found herself in the unusual position of trailing.

Mooney asked Denson to turn around and look at her teammates.

"They have your back,'' Mooney said to Denson, who was the leadoff hitter in the sixth. "Now, go up there and get on base, because Ashley Timmons is about to hit a home run and tie the game.''

The coach was prophetic. Denson singled, Timmons, a junior catcher and cleanup hitter, launched a game-tying home run. Timberview went on to send 16 batters to the plate and score 12 runs for a 13-3 victory at Timberview‘s softball park. Mansfield never recorded the third out in the sixth inning. The 10-run mercy rule was invoked after a two-run single by Gabby Littles.



"That was crazy,'' said Mooney, selected as the Dallas High Yield Coach of the Week presented by Capital One Bank. "It was one of the most exciting games I've been involved in.''

Timberview (17-4-1, 10-0), winner of 12 straight, increased its district lead to two games over Mansfield (19-5-1, 8-2), its closest pursuer.

"I was thinking home run if I got an inside pitch,'' said Timmons, who upped her home run total to four.

Mansfield has only four games remaining to make up the deficit after being swept by Timberview in the season series.

The win was Timberview's 12th in a row and Denson improved to 14-2 with eight strikeouts, despite not having her best stuff.

"The defining moment this season for Mariah Denson came in a tournament game against Bryan,'' Mooney said. "They have a good team and their best player hit a couple of home runs off her. But she came back to strike out the side after the second one and, even though we lost the game, it was a confidence-builder for Mariah and her teammates.''



The coach said she never had any doubt about going almost exclusively with a freshman pitcher. "She's played a lot of ball against some of the best players in the nation in her age division, traveling to places like Las Vegas and California,'' Mooney said. "My concern was if she could come off the injury to her back.''

Denson spent several months leading up to the season in a back brace to help her recover from a stress fracture that worsened over time into a fractured vertebra. The brace appears to have done its job.

Mooney, in her fifth season at Timberview, said this group of players is special not only for its skill, but also for the way they get along.

Before coming to Timberview, Mooney made previous coaching stops at Bowie (Arlington) and Chapel Hill (Tyler). She is a native of Haltom City, and played all the school sports. But no softball.

Her high school days pre-dated softball becoming a University Interscholastic League sport. Mooney had to be satisfied with playing in summer softball leagues. Her position was shortstop.

She continued her athletic career at Southern Arkansas University.



On Mooney's watch, Timberview has risen to No. 9 in the Dallas Morning News' Class 5A area ranking.

At Timberview Mooney teaches health and also instructs physical education for special needs partners. One of her special needs students often throws out the first pitch at Timberview home softball games.

Mooney said she could sense something special about this year's team.

"You'll get a group of players like this every once in a while,'' Mooney said. "We're well-rounded in most areas of the game, but we try to do more than teach softball. We want them to learn things that will help them in life. That's why this group volunteers to work in the community.''