By JOSHUA McKINNEY, Staff Writer
The Pace Lady Vikings aren’t going to stay down after a tough start to District 32-5A play.
Coach Jesus Jaramillo thinks it’s just a matter of time for his young team to establish chemistry and get the hang of playing varsity softball.
“I think we’ll still be okay. (Mercedes) is our toughest opponent (in 32-5A),” Jaramillo said. “We already played Edcouch-Elsa in a tournament and kind of hung in there with them. Our pitcher (Brianna Nunez) is a junior. She’s doing well. Our catcher (Jessica Aguilar) is a senior. But if everybody else can gel and work together, I think we’ll be fine.”
Pace (4-8, 0-2) is struggling early in the district portion of its season, with a 14-0 loss to Mercedes in 5 innings and a 19-4 loss to Donna North in three innings.
Jaramillo expects a different story during the second half of Pace’s district slate.
“Every week, we need to see improvement,” he said. “It’s just going to take some time but every year with this group, by the second half (of district), we’ve gelled. We’re getting there. We’re going to get there.”
ROUGH PATCH
The scoreline from Los Fresnos’ 10-1 loss to San Benito on Tuesday night doesn’t show it, but the Lady Falcons have progressed at the plate from the start of the season.
Putting runs together was a concern early in the season, and getting through a few tournaments helped the Lady Falcons get experience playing as a group.
Tuesday’s result was likely a matter of Los Fresnos (11-4-1, 1-1) trying to do too much against a tough Lady Greyhounds team.
“Our hitting has come around. Our catcher, (Samantha Padilla) that’s her sixth home run she’s hit this year,” coach Traci Blackman. “It’s just trying too hard. They want to be the hero and they can’t do that. You’ve got to be focused and you can’t try too hard in this game. You just have to relax and do what you know how to do.”
FILLING IN
Coach Rey Lerma says injuries have hurt the Hanna Lady Golden Eagles this season, but players have used time in spot duty to perform.
A 5-4 win against Harlingen High showed Lerma that his team is playing at the level he expects.
“This has been a great chance for team players to step it up,” Lerma said. “I feel we are doing as well as expected at this time. After (Tuesday’s win against Harlingen High), I feel we are heading in the right direction. It was an emotional win for us. We needed it at this time. Great victory.”
Left fielder Salone McManus and right fielder Abby Garcia are two players who he says have done a “tremendous job” of filling for Hanna (6-8, 1-1) while starters are out.