BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
McALLEN — Excuse McAllen High pitcher Alexis Gutierrez if her head wasn’t in the books Tuesday.
The Lady Bulldogs junior ace was completely dialed into the team’s game versus crosstown rival McAllen Memorial from the time she got up.
“I was anxious for this game,” Guitierrez said. “This game was completely on my mind the entire time. I would daydream (at school) strategizing what was I was going to do.”
School never stood a chance, and neither did Memorial as Gutierrez stifled the Lady Mustangs with a three-hit, complete-game shutout as McHi went on to win 5-0 and jumped right back into the District 30-6A race.
Gutierrez’s work didn’t stop on the mound. The right-hander also went 3-for-3 at the plate with an RBI and scored twice. Helping Gutierrez was sophomore catcher Brittany Castillo, who had two hits and two RBIs while helping direct the Lady Bulldog’s stellar defense.
McHi’s win, which boosted its district mark to 3-2, was particularly impressive because it came against Memorial’s Daisy Gonzalez, a formidable pitcher and one the region’s best players. Despite the loss, Gonzalez struck out eight Lady Bulldogs and walked none. Memorial suffered its first district loss and drops to 3-1.
Still, it was Gutierrez and the Lady Bulldogs’ night. McHi coach Ruth Garcia said a key to her squad’s success was practicing hitting during spring break to get ready for Memorial and Gonzalez.
“We got ready for her (Gonzalez). Mentally we told them (Lady Bulldogs) ‘We can hit anybody.’ And we’ve been waiting for her,” said Garcia. “Daisy’s one of the best pitchers in the Valley. She controls it well. But it’s like I told the girls, I thought we had the bats to pull through.”
McHi was able to gain some confidence early as it scattered four hits and scored two runs in the first inning, setting the tone early and allowing Gutierrez to pitch with a lead. After Gonzalez struck out the side in the second, the Lady Bulldogs bounced back for more in the third. Gutierrez tripled home leadoff hitter Annika Garcia, who had reached on an error.
In the sixth, Garcia got an infield single. Gutierrez followed by punching a pitch to left to get on base. After two outs, Castillo bellied up to the plate and stuck a seeingeye single into center to drive in Garcia, and Gutierrez followed across home after a throwing error. Those runs provided for the game’s final score and the win for McHi.
“We have a lot of lowscoring games. Our defense is pretty good when we are on,” said Gutierrez. “They (defense) get the job done. And if they get errors, they make it up with double plays and ground outs. They do anything to get the out, and I know I can depend on them to back me up.”
Castillo said that Gutierrez, who didn’t walk any Lady Mustangs, struck out three and faced just four batters over the minimum, was in command all night.
“She was just hitting her corners and getting to where she was supposed to,” the catcher said. “Even when the going got tough, she still put it there.” Gutierrez was hardly in trouble most of the night, but
Memorial put runners in scoring position in the second and third innings. McHi’s defense, however, ended those threats about as quickly as they started. Memorial coach Audra Benavidez said the Lady Mustangs will move forward after the disappointing night with the same goal: win the district championship.
“Tonight we came in and we knew we had a big bull’s-eye on our back,” Benavidez said of being undefeated in district before the game. “Offensively things were not falling into place like we are used to. We were still hitting the ball. We were making contact. We were hitting shots and it seemed like every shot wasn’t falling into place.”