The name of the game Tuesday night was small ball, which put a premium on runners in scoring position and strong fielding.
The Hanna Lady Golden Eagles made effective use of bunts and capitalized on the Lopez Lady Lobos’ fielding errors to beat Lopez 3-1 in a District 32-6A game Tuesday at Hanna.
Rey Lerma, the Lady Eagles’ coach, knew the Lady Lobos were going to make it tough to come away with a win.
“I knew they were going to be a tough ballclub,” Lerma said. “They’re a vastly improved team. The coaches they’ve got there now, they’re doing a really good job with the girls. I even had some of the other coaches in the district text me and call me and say, ‘Hey, you’ve got to watch out for Lopez. They’re vastly improved. We knew they were going to be good. We knew this was going to be a contest.”
Hanna starting pitcher Juliette Gonzalez struck out 10 batters in five innings to earn the win. She allowed three hits, two walks and a run. Vanessa Gracia had two hits for Hanna (7-9, 2-2) in the game.
Gonzalez left the game in the sixth inning to due dizziness. Freshman pitcher Alex Garcia threw two innings in relief, and finished with two strikeouts and a walk.
“My pitching is usually is more dominant, and our offense and defense started slow but the good thing is we ended it with the win,” Gonzalez said.
The Lady Lobos’ fielding mistakes cost them on two of Hanna’s three runs. Lopez’s lineup wasn’t able to get much going with runners on and left seven on base, including six in scoring position.
A failure to execute at the plate and in the field ultimately spelled doom for Lopez (9-9, 1-3).
“(It was) absolutely necessary (not to make mistakes),” Lopez coach Jesse Martinez said. “Without the mistakes, we win this game without a problem. I don’t believe they earned a single run. We either threw the ball away or it went through our legs, under our gloves.
“Without mistakes, we win this game 1-0. After you stop them, your confidence tends to surge and you score more runs. Of course, their pitcher would have been down too. But we gave them more life.”
Kasi Rubio pitched six innings for Lopez and gave up four hits, three walks and struck out three.
Hanna’s Becky Galarza hit a triple through the legs of Lopez shortstop Leslie Solis that rolled into left-center field to drive in Gonzalez and tie the game at 1-1 during the bottom of the fourth.
An errant throw from third base to first Galarza and gave Hanna a one-run lead.
Another fielding error gave Hanna a third run in the fifth inning. Lauren Rivera led off the inning with a walk to get on first.
Hanna’s small-ball tactics came into play two batters later, when Tabitha Fernandez squared around to bunt and put the ball in play. Lopez catcher Lexi Castro scooped up the ball and threw to first but missed high, scoring Rivera.
“It’s funny, I think I bunted more tonight than I’ve bunted in the last three years,” Lerma said. “We had to execute and we did tonight. I think that’s what helped us because it allowed us to get runners on base. The whole key in this game is you got to put the ball in play. When you put the ball in play, they have to catch it, throw it and another person has to catch. You have to put the ball in play. That’s the name of the game.”
The Lady Lobos had opportunities to score in the fifth and six innings.
Solis was on second and Rubio was on third with one out, but Gonzalez struck out the next two batters to retire the side.
In the sixth, Garcia walked Yadia Mejia and hit Yasmin Martinez with a pitch to put two runners on. Mejia and Martinez advanced to second and third on a passed ball during the next at-bat to give Lopez a scoring threat.
But Garcia remained composed and finished the frame by striking out Solis.
“The Golden Eagles have a good program,” coach Martinez added. “When you give them life, they take advantage of it. They played good tonight.”
Joshua McKinney covers high school sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him at (956) 982-6663 or via email at [email protected]. On Twitter, he’s @ joshuabvherald.