Garland softball coach Cindy Mosteller has used the state championship rings she won in 2006 and 2007 as motivational tools. But rather than showing off the rings to her players, Mosteller has refused to wear the rings during the 2007 and 2008 seasons.

"At the beginning of the season, I said that we earned this last year, but if this is what our goal is this year, then we need to earn another one," she said.

With two wins at the state tournament in Austin, Garland can become the third UIL softball team to win three state titles, joining Pasadena Dobie (1993, '95, '97) and Weimar (2002, '03, '06). Garland (31-5-2) plays Austin Bowie (31-4) in a 5A semifinal at 8 p.m. today.

Garland is 137-17-5 the last four seasons, but it has fun as well as wins. Last week, coaches soaked players with water guns during a distraction drill at practice. Thursday, players spent part of batting practice trying to hit grapes, strawberries and oranges.

After Garland beat Tomball last week to qualify for the state tournament, coach Cindy Mosteller told her players they could take Monday off for Memorial Day but there would be voluntary batting practice available.

"The whole team showed up," Mosteller said. "That's how much it means to them."

That dedication has put Garland in position to make history. This weekend, Garland will try to become the first UIL softball team to win three consecutive state titles.

"We just want to go in and win two games and be state champions," said senior pitcher Tomi Garrison, who is 25-3 with a 0.75 ERA and is also hitting .467 with 46 RBIs. "We're not thinking anything like, 'We've won two back-to-back,' or 'We're defending state champions.' It's a new year. We're just like everybody else trying to win it."

Garland isn't like the other 5A teams at state, though. Garland is in the state tournament for the fourth consecutive season, tying a UIL record shared by Waco Midway, Blooming Grove and Coahoma. The other 5A teams at state – Austin Bowie, Odessa and Alvin – have combined to play one game at state. That was by Bowie last year, when it lost, 5-0, to Garland in a state semifinal.

Greg Riddle

MILTON HINNANT

Garland's infield (left to right): 1B Dani Hoff, 2B Heather Wilson, SS Rose Stubbs and 3B Katie Updyke.

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Rose Stubbs figured her days in the outfield were over after three starting infielders graduated last season. She just didn't know she would be the everyday shortstop.

Garland revamped its infield after losing shortstop Krystle Huey (Oklahoma), second baseman Whitney Wilson (Sam Houston State) and third baseman Brianna Love (Louisiana-Monroe) to graduation.

Sophomore Katie Updyke switched from first to third base. Freshman Dani Hoff moved to first base, and freshman Heather Wilson replaced her older sister, Whitney, at second base.

"We all worked really hard to do our best at whatever position she put us at," said Stubbs, who is hitting .411.

Gabriel Cabarrouy

Last week in Waco, Garland players saw pictures of coach Cindy Mosteller when she was a Baylor third baseman from 1981-85.

Cindy Mosteller

"She was a little chubby back then," third baseman Katie Updyke said. "I couldn't even recognize her."

Mosteller, whose nickname was "Pork Chop," set school records for home runs and hits in college before she was hired to build the Garland softball program in 1994.

In 15 seasons, her record is 384-96-8, including two state titles. She said she is proud to be Garland's only softball coach.

Mosteller said former Duncanville basketball coach Sandra Meadows has been her inspiration. Meadows coached at the same school for 25 years and won four state titles.

"I thought, 'That's the coach I want to be in the softball world,' " she said.

Gabriel Cabarrouy

In last year's 5-0 win over Austin Bowie in a Class 5A state semifinal, Garland's Tomi Garrison came within three outs of pitching a perfect game. She finished with a one-hitter and 15 strikeouts.

Is that the best game Garland coach Cindy Mosteller has ever seen Garrison pitch? "It's one of them," Mosteller said.

Extraordinary performances by Garrison at the state tournament are nothing new. A Sam Houston State signee, she is 5-1 in state tournament games in her career. She is 3-0 with three shutouts in state semifinal games. And she went 4-0 and allowed one run in 34 innings at state in the last two seasons while helping Garland win back-to-back titles.

"I don't really think about how big the game is," Garrison said. "It's just like another game, so just play like you do every other game."

Greg Riddle