BY NATHANIEL MATA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
MERCEDES — The Mercedes Lady Tigers started strong in Game 1 of their second-round series against the Corpus Christi King Mustangs but they weren’t able to hold an early lead and fell 8-3 at home Friday night.
Mercedes leadoff batter and starting shortstop Samantha Flores only needed two pitches to hit a ball over the left-field fence and send the crowd into a frenzy. Kassidy Sanchez knocked in pitcher Felicia Garza to add a second RBI in the bottom of the first.
Mercedes added another run in the bottom of the third inning. Sanchez started the inning with a leadoff double and later scored on a sacrifice fly.
The three-run lead looked promising for the Tigers, but that’s when the offense slowed and King’s picked up speed.
The Tigers were smooth sailing on the defensive side until the Mustangs’ half of the fourth inning. With one out, King used a combination of aggressive base running and Mercedes errors to get into the game. Ground balls hit off of infielder’s gloves, allowing batters who should have been retired to become base runners.
A throwing error at first base and a botched rundown between pitcher Garza and catcher Kassidy Arguelles allowed Corpus to take the lead with four runs.
“We’ve got to stay mentally tough and physically tough throughout the whole game,” Flores said. “We’ve got to encourage everybody to keep the game going. There’s a lot of game. There are 7 innings in a game.”
The visiting team kept the bats going as the game moved on. A big night from catcher Alyson Silvas and much of the lineup allowed the Mustangs to push their lead to 6-3 after five and 8-3 after six.
King pitcher Chasity De Leon kept the Tigers in check, not allowing a run after the third inning and pitching out of a pair of bases-loaded jams.
King coach Laura Morales felt her team was making good contact all game. The Mustangs just took time to find holes.
“We knew if we just kept hitting the ball the way that we were, eventually we’d start finding those gaps,” Morales said. “That’s what happened. They just kept hitting the ball hard.”
Mercedes was dangerous again in the bottom of the sixth inning, down five runs. After a pair of hits, Flores drew a walk to load the bases for Yizenia Garcia. Despite the threat, a strikeout and flyout ended hopes for a rally.
“We look like we got a little frustrated,” Morrell said. “We had a hard time making some of the outs, some of the routine outs. We got frustrated, and then we took it with us to the bats, and we weren’t productive at all.”
Despite being visibly emotional after the loss, the Tigers, who finished 12-2 in District 32-5A as runners-up, intend to play more than just one game tomorrow.
The message for Morrell’s girls moving into elimination games? Remember they are a strong team.
“It’s, ‘Keep the confidence, stay tough and believe, and be intent on going over there to play two games tomorrow,’” Morrell said.
The Tigers will face a do-or-die Game 2 at 6 p.m. in Corpus Christi, hoping to force a second game 30 minutes later.