FREDDY GONZALEZ | Staff Writer
SANTA ROSA — While much of the talk this weekend surrounded the shock that was heard around the Valley after PSJA Memorial ousted San Benito from the postseason, the Santa Rosa Lady Warriors were quietly making school history.
First softball district championship — check.
First team to go undefeated in district play — check.
First team to post a bi-district playoff victory — check.
First team to advance to an area round match — check.
In a season full of firsts, it’s hard to believe that the Lady Warriors are sill hungry for more.
That is until you find out what they are fighting for — acceptance.
While the weekend might have been filled with upsets and turmoil that will last throughout the offseason, the Lady Warriors were fighting to prove they belong.
Not to themselves, but to the naysayers that still question the merit of their team. And their bi-district victory against Banquete served as step in the right direction.
Although the Lady Warriors didn’t play their best games against the Lady Bulldogs, the team still found a way to win.
Not individually, but as a team. Which is something head coach Erika Molina makes sure the team remembers first and foremost, above everything else.
Before every game Molina writes, “It’s not about you, team first” on the board inside the team dugout to remind her girls that teamwork got them where they are today.
“I’m trying to instill that not one individual is above the team,” said Molina. “The player has to put her selfishness aside for the betterment of the team. I want them to have each other’s back.”
“There are no selfish minds allowed,” added junior pitcher Raeven Robles. “We want to make sure that the team is put before ourselves.
“We don’t have to love each other, but once we’re on the field that’s our family. In the past it hasn’t always been like that. This year everybody has come together as a family and has supported each other on the team.”
NOT JUST ANY GIRLS:
When you think of softball, cheerleaders aren’t the first images that come charging into anyone’s mind. That’s because softball is a tough sport, with dirt flying around into players’ mouths, nostrils and eyes.
The first inclination is to imagine Kirsten Dunst and Gabriella Union from the 2000 motion picture “Bring It On” as the lead characters drive around in their brightly colored VW Beetles and avoiding getting dirty.
However, for team standouts Jazzy Robles, Skyar Ruiz, Mariah Contreras, Kelly Guerra, Raeven Robles and Julysa Alvarez, the transition from pom-poms to facemasks and protective gear is what makes the Lady Warriors so diverse.
“Being captain of the cheer squad was pretty tough because both sports are very demanding, but we’re all softball players first,” said senior Jazzy Robles. “We’re in a small enough school where you see the same faces in pretty much every sport.”
“It’s helped us be really loud in the dugout. Especially my sister, who is also a cheerleader, is possibly the loudest and rowdiest softball player in existence.”
District 32-3A opponents and Banquete have already felt their wrath. Who else will these softball players/cheerleaders surprise on the field?
The Lady Warriors will be hoping to write another chapter in the school history books when they face Odem in a best-of-3 series at the Texas A&M Kingsville softball field. Game 2 is at 7 p.m. Friday, Game 2 is at 2 p.m. Saturday and Game 3, if needed, will begin 30 minutes afterward.