STEPHENVILLE — After guiding Wylie to one of its best seasons ever, WHS softball coach Shelby Elkins had the unenviable task of speaking to her heartbroken players following an 11-7 Game 3 loss to Fort Worth Brewer in the Region I-5A DII title game on Saturday.

Brewer had just eliminated Wylie behind five homers at the Stephenville High School Softball Field. But Elkins quickly reminded a group of tearful players that there were several important achievements they should remember years from now.

“You just highlight the positives,” said Elkins, whose team had reached the program’s first regional title series since 2006 and its first ever in Class 5A. “For us to make it this far, they’ve done some great things this year. 

“Every single one of them shattered their own records. … And that’s what we looked at from the very beginning of the season. The number of hits they had, the number of defensive plays  — I wanted to give all of them goals to set and every one of them did a phenomenal job. 
“I’m very proud of them.”