BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
LAREDO — In a rematch of the 2016 UIL 6A Region IV final series, New Braunfels Canyon hit three home runs en route to a 6-2 victory over Weslaco High in Game 1 of their regional semifinal series on Friday.
Weslaco High senior starting pitcher Taylor Tafolla struggled early, giving up a solo home run to New Braunfels Canyon third baseman Aliyah Pritchett in the second inning. Coach Mario Rodriguez pulled Tafolla after 1 1/3 innings in which she allowed two hits, including the home run, and two walks. Tafolla was replaced by sophomore reliever Ashley Sada, who took care of the final 5 2/3 innings.
“The blue’s (umpire’s) strike zone kind of forced my hand, because he was not going to give her anything from the outside,” Rodriguez said. “In order for us to have a chance to stay in the game, you have to adjust to what the blue is calling. At that point, we had to make a change.”
Down 1-0 in the fourth, Weslaco High (29-4) got a leadoff double from catcher Audrey Escamilla. Following an infield hit by Gabriela Rivera, Rodriguez subbed out third baseman Jenny Guillen for pinch hitter Abigail Luna. Luna singled up the middle with two out, scoring Escamilla and tying the score at 1.
The 1-1 tie was short-lived, as New Braunfels Canyon (30-6) came out swinging in the top half of the fifth inning. Canyon ripped three consecutive singles off Sada, bringing Pritchett to the dish. Pritchett’s sacrifice fly plated a run to give Canyon a 2-1 advantage. Shortstop Sydney Owens stepped up next and smashed a three-run home run that ricocheted off the scoreboard in right-center, putting Canyon up 5-1. Canyon added another solo home run by catcher Jude Padilla in the seventh to round out their scoring.
“We managed to get a couple of them,” New Braunfels Canyon coach Kevin Randle said. “The wind blowing out helped us a little bit, but we just happened to get the good pitches in the right situation. We’ve got a few kids that have given us some power all year, and they came through tonight.”
“They’re different offensively,” Rodriguez said. “Their centerfielder (Sydney Belvin), third baseman (Pritchett) and their shortstop (Owens) who came back, those are the difference makers. They’re a great offensive team.”
The Lady Panthers had chances to bring runners home against Lady Cougarettes junior pitcher Brooke Vestal but were not able to cash in on enough of them.
“We came into today with the approach that we were going to divide up the game,” Rodriguez said. “Now we’ve got some information on them, and we’re going to work on our pitchers hitting their spots.”
With a win or go home Game 2 coming up for Weslaco High at 4 p.m. today in Laredo, the circumstances haven’t changed Rodriguez and his team’s approach to keeping their season alive.
“We had some opportunities offensively, but we weren’t able to get that timely hit,” Rodriguez said. “We need to put two or three hits together and score a run here and there. But hats off to Brooke (Vestal). She pitched very well today.”