By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — Prior to the start of the season, Edinburg Vela coach Belinda Treviño handed out bracelets to her players. Beyond a common accessory that could bond her team together, the bracelet had deeper meaning.
Within the past year, the Lady SaberCats had been divided, at times, into cliques. And as one player put it, “girl drama” ensued.
The rope was intended to represent a change in the team’s culture — one that valued unity.
“We hold the rope for each other,” centerfielder Areisy Carrillo said. “You be there for them and you play for the girl next to you.”
It’s Year 3 now for Vela as a school and a program. And like most team sports on campus, the softball squad is enjoying a breakout season.
So far, the Lady SaberCats have yet to lose a game this year, rising atop the RGVSports.com top 10 rankings and pitting themselves as the odds-on favorite to win the District 31-5A title, especially after their win over Rio Grande City on Thursday.
They’re doing it with pitcher Shayla Abbott, Carrillo and catcher Sarah Lopez as their centerpieces. With the exception of Lopez, who transferred to Vela following her freshman year, the juniors have been with the program since its inception, taking their lumps at first and now growing into one of the more well-rounded teams in the area.
Defense had never been a concern for Vela, especially with Abbott in the circle. But in instances where there might have been a defensive blunder or two, the Lady SaberCats were unable to withstand it, given their shaky offense.
Now, that’s no longer the case.
“For the past two years, we haven’t had the sticks needed to be successful all the time,” Treviño said. “Just putting a lot more emphasis now on making contact with the ball and doing our job, whether it be bunting or being a base runner to score the run. Those are the things I see now that I didn’t see in Year 1.”
Through 10 district games, Vela has four mercy wins to its credit, all shutouts, in addition to a 9-0 win over Roma earlier this month.
The Lady SaberCats aren’t simply winning games; they’re putting teams away quickly.
“Our attitude’s different this year,” Abbott said. “Our coach always preaches to us, ‘We can’t take anyone lightly. We’ve got to step on the field and make teams not want to play us again. Put it all out on the field,’ and that’s what we’ve been doing.”
The relationship between the pitcher (Abbott) and catcher (Lopez) has also been instrumental. Since they were 9 years old, the two have played on club teams together. And it’s that familiarity with one another that has helped give them a significant boost.
“When I’m catching, I’ll throw up a sign and if she doesn’t like it, she gives me a face and I know we’re switching it,” Lopez said. “I know some pitchers from other schools that are friends of mine that’ll say, ‘This catcher doesn’t help me out. She doesn’t know my pitch.’ And that’s what I like to know. I like to know my pitcher’s favorite pitches and what they least like to pitch. It helps us out a lot.”
The undefeated record has been a surprise to some, even within the Vela softball team. Players and coaches alike, however, have downplayed the focus on the 21-0 overall start, including 10-0 in district.
Treviño says she’s never talked about it with her players. The players, especially the juniors, say they’re not too concerned with it, either.
“We didn’t have a goal like, ‘Oh, we want to go undefeated,’” Lopez said. “We just wanted to come out and be the best players we could be and just try to come out on top.”
“We’re all united,” she added. “And that’s one thing Coach tells us to do. There’s no fighting, there’s no drama. Other schools may have drama, but we’re doing really great right now.”