By MARIO AGUIRRE | STAFF WRITER
Weslaco High coach Mario Rodriguez came across of flood of e-mails when he checked his inbox Sunday morning.
Among those messages — many congratulatory after his team’s regional final win over the weekend — was one from the UIL announcing the state tournament pairings.
It was there that Rodriguez learned his team would face Pearland in the 6A state semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday. Should the Lady Panthers win, they would advance to the state championship to face either Keller or Humble Atascosita at 4 p.m. Saturday.
All games will be played at McCombs Field at the University of Texas at Austin.
“You get that e-mail, and you just go and try to get as much information about the opposing the team as you can,” Rodriguez said. “Us, as a coaching staff, we’ll come up with a practice plan and see if there’s anything that we need to do differently to prepare for them.
“But, you know, you’ve come this far with what you’re doing, so you try to keep things as normal and routine as you can.”
The Lady Panthers (33-7), No. 4 in the latest Texas Girls Coaches Association Softball Poll, are coming off a two-game sweep over New Braunfels Canyon (27-11), the No. 7 team, at Cabaniss Field in Corpus Christi.
They’re 11-2 in the playoffs, having sweep three opponents, including Saturday’s series to capture the Region IV-6A title.
Weslaco High is only the second Valley program ever to advance to the UIL state tournament in softball. San Benito did it in 2013 and 2015, losing each time to Lewisville in the semifinals.
On Friday, the Lady Panthers will take on their toughest opponent yet in Pearland (31-6-1), the Region II-6A champions and ranked No. 2 in the state.
“They have a lot of players that are signed to college, a lot of seniors,” Rodriguez said. “They’re all committed somewhere. They have a lot of speed. From the clips we saw online, they do a lot of small ball. It’s different than what we’ve faced in the playoffs, but we’re not too unfamiliar with it.”
Up next, if Weslaco wins, is No. 1 Keller (30-7) from Region I-6A or No. 5 Humble Atascosita (30-6) from Region III-6A.
Should that happen, it would mark the first time a Valley team has ever reached the UIL state championship in softball.
Already, the Lady Panthers have exceeded anything their program has ever accomplished. Never had they advanced beyond the second round of the playoffs, and now they’re preparing for their sixth playoff opponent.
“It’s kind of nice,” Rodriguez said about the buzz surrounding his program. “The mayor of Weslaco (David Suarez) had the police department escort us all the way in from Raymondville or Harlingen, which was cool. The girls kind of liked that. Then we came and they blocked all the lights and we made it to the drop-off area at school.
“They took the special treatment coming in. After a long trip, it was nice.”