On the sidelines: Cleburne softball's Azriela Huber & Kadenze Quzma

Entering the final week of the regular season, District 8-5A has decided three playoff teams: Centennial, Burleson and Joshua. A battle for the final spot includes Mansfield Timberview and the Cleburne Lady Jackets.

A program known for being an outsider looking into the playoff picture in recent memory has gone through a rollercoaster ride this season, according to infielder Kadenze Quzma.

Beginning with the hiring of Kendall Mathis as head coach in August of 2025, Cleburne had to rebuild softball and put together a roster with many new faces.

Before their season opener against Benbrook in February, senior leader and catcher Azriela Huber suffered a potential season-ending knee injury during practice.

“When I went in, I met with the doctor who would’ve been my surgeon, his assistant and our trainers here. All of them couldn’t get my ACL to lock, basic signs of an ACL tear,” said Huber.

Immediately believing her senior season, summer ball and the first year of her college career were now in jeopardy, the fate of the Lady Jackets relied on Huber’s CT scan.

When the scan showed a grade II ACL strain, revealing only a partially torn ligament. A huge sigh of relief came from Huber.

“I think it was actually a miracle,” Huber admitted.

With a lifeline for her final season with the Lady Jackets, Huber hit the ground running in her recovery and saw immediate results. Within two weeks, Huber went from being on crutches to jogging.

However, Huber’s exact return was still up in the air. One of Cleburne’s pillars and commander behind home plate was sidelined, leaving the rest of the roster to fill in where needed.

According to Huber, players pulled out of their normal positions caused a strain to the team’s mental toughness.

“It definitely tested my mental strength,” said Huber. “But the more I sat out and watched, yes it sucked because I wanted to play so bad and help, but the more it let me sit back and learn about each and every player. It was a blessing in disguise.”

A healing Huber became a player-coach for Cleburne over the first month of the season, recognizing how to communicate with her teammates when faced with obstacles.

She did such a good job of filling that role for the Lady Jackets that former Oklahoma Sooner softball player and collegiate All-American, Lauren Chamberlain, believed Huber was part of the coaching staff when she visited with the team during their home tournament.

On the field, the Lady Jackets not only missed their starting catcher but also one of their strongest hitters at the plate.

In its first three district games (Centennial, Burleson, Joshua), Cleburne was outscored 51-0. Moreover, a 5-4 walk-off loss to Timberview left the Lady Jackets at 0-4, with a postseason appearance falling out of reach.

But Quzma and the team didn’t lose faith and continued to trust the process.

“Day by day, I saw improvements,” said Quzma. “In the past, we didn’t have anyone who pushed us the way that she [Mathis] does. Without her, we wouldn’t be where we’re at.”

On rides home after games, Quzma reflects on her performances. Especially after the early defeats, talks with Jaycie Jones and Huber allowed her to see different points of view.

“You don’t put as much pressure on yourself,” furthered Quzma. “You accept it how it is, because you can’t go back and fix it.”

Closeness between the team grew stronger, which is something Quzma or Huber hasn’t experienced in their time in Cleburne.

After a month of recovery, Huber was cleared to play days before the first Timberview game.

“I’m back, I’m back,” yelled Huber as she ran out onto the field for practice.

When Mathis told her that she was batting second in the lineup, nerves were not the concern for Huber; It was confusion as to why she wasn’’t leading off.

“I was smiling from ear to ear during warmups and in the bullpen. I wasn’t trying to hold back in any way,” said Huber.

When asked if she needed time to adjust in her return, Huber said, “Absolutely not, it was a breath of fresh air.”

In the loss, Huber caught two runners stealing and despite an 0-4 record, she felt an energy come back to the Lady Jackets.

A rejuvenated Cleburne group racked off three dominant wins against Everman, Mansfield Summit and Arlington Seguin, outscoring them 47-8. In those games, Huber and Quzma combined for 10 hits and 18 RBIs.

After a set of losses to the top teams in the standings, Cleburne was in a must-win situation against Timberview at home last week.

Quzma scored two runs for the Lady Jackets on a wild pitch and an inside-the-park home run, her fourth homer of the season.

Up 2-0 in the top of the sixth, the Lady Wolves had bases loaded with two outs. With the season on the line, pitcher Dayanna Mitchell struck out one of Timberview’s best hitters to get out of the frame unscathed and propelled Cleburne to a win.

Playing together since T-ball, best friends Mitchell and Quzma take notes of every team they play and work on what pitches work best against the Lady Wolves.

Quzma’s influence on Cleburne’s success begins in the box, crediting the work she does behind the scenes.

“Hitting does not come easy. It took years to be any good. A little bit of extra work goes a long way.”

As much as her hitting has helped the Lady Jackets, Quzma has taken a coaching role as well, thanks to Mathis.

Eden Treesh was paired with Quzma by Mathis to help her get through a hitting slump. Mentioning how Quzma is interested in a coaching career, she used this opportunity as a head start.

“I know what she’s doing, what she’s talking about and all the work she does outside of practice makes her a better player,” said Mathis. “All her teammates have respect for her and listen to her, so I’ve been super proud of her the last few weeks on taking on this role of being an extra coach.”

In Friday’s 20-2 victory over Everman, Treesh had two hits.

In order to earn the program’s first playoff appearance since 2017, the Lady Jackets must win their final two district games against Summit and Seguin, along with Timberview losing one of its final two games. In that scenario, the two will play a tie-breaker game three next week to determine the fourth seed.

If Timberview loses both games and Cleburne wins both, Cleburne automatically moves on.

“We attack each team the same,” said Huber on how the team battles through districts. “If you go into a game thinking you’re going to lose, that’s how it’s gonna go. We use the ‘win the inning’ method, which has done a lot to help us.”

Whether it’s first-place Centennial or last-place Everman, the Lady Jackets play as if it’s a even playing field, Huber noted.

On what a playoff appearance in her final season would mean, Huber said she’d literally do anything for it to happen.

“With me being here for four years, I’ve never felt it more than this season. We’re so close and I can tell we’re not stopping anytime soon.”

Although it took some time for Quzma to embrace the role, she now loves the fact that the Lady Jackets are underdogs and wants to prove everybody wrong.