By KEVIN LU | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
MISSION — The McAllen Rowe softball team clinched a share of the District 30-6A title with a 9-1 win at Mission High on Friday.
The Warriors (15-6, 10-1 District) can clinch the title outright with a win in their final district game against La Joya at home on Tuesday.
Pitcher Krystal Ramos starred in the win for Rowe. The junior tossed a complete-game and allowed three hits; her only mistake a solo home run to Alondra Leija in the seventh inning when the Warriors were up 9-0.
“Without (Ramos), we wouldn’t be here,” McAllen Rowe coach Ozzy Hernandez said. “The whole season she’s kept us going.”
Friday’s game was the Warriors’ third win in three days as they made up some rainouts from earlier in their schedule. Ramos pitched Rowe to victory in each of the games. On Friday she also had two hits and knocked in and scored a run.
“We can’t ask for more,” Hernandez said. “Tonight was a true test of what she’s got and she showed what her character was.”
Junior Karolina Rodriguez got the Warriors on the board in the second inning, sending the first pitch she saw over the centerfield wall for a two-run homerun.
Maddie Prukop added to the lead in the fifth inning on a two-run double that she scorched to the left-center field wall. She scored on a throwing error a batter later to give the Warriors a 5-0 lead.
A pair of Lady Eagles errors an inning later contributed to a four-run frame that broke the game open. A Mission High mistake allowed Prukop to reach base and let a run in for a 7-0 Warriors lead. Viktoria Polanco and Ramos followed with consecutive run-scoring singles to put Rowe ahead 9-0.
“Coming in, we knew we had to be aggressive,” Hernandez said. “Tonight we came out on top because of our aggressive baserunning.”
Mission High (7-5, 6-2) had a chance to come back in the fifth inning down 5-0. After getting the first two batters on base, Ramos induced three straight groundballs to end the threat.