BY TJ GARCIA | SPECIAL TO THE MONITOR
EDINBURG — Different place. Different game. But in the end, same result.
Junior reserve Iliana Trujillo came off the bench and ripped an RBI double to right-center field to score the game’s only run Friday night as the Weslaco High Lady Panthers used pitching and defense to eke out a 1-0 Game 2 victory over the Edinburg High Lady Bobcats.
With the win, the Lady Panthers took the series 2-0 — the same margin as in last year’s series against the Lady Bobcats — to move on to the regional semifinals.
Weslaco’s win was a stark contrast to Thursday night’s 10-1 defeat of Edinburg, but the constant was pitcher Ashley Sada’s juice on the mound as she continued her mastery over Lady Bobcats’ hitters. Thursday she retired the last 10 batters in a row. On Friday, she sat down the last nine batters straight, including three strikeouts, on just 21 pitches.
“In my mind, I just think I have to be accurate and trust my defense all the time, trust my catcher behind the plate and give it my all,” said Sada, a sophomore who typically comes in after Taylor Tafolla starts. “I am totally comfortable with that. We have been doing it most of the season. I have total confidence in Taylor, and I just come in and finish the game.”
And Weslaco needed her and Tafolla more than ever Friday night. Tafolla, a junior, pitched a strong first four innings before handing the ball to Sada, who started the fifth.
Sada and the Panthers could not have notched the regional quarterfinal series clincher without Trujillo, who Weslaco coach Mario Rodriguez inserted into the lineup in the fifth inning with the game still scoreless.
“I told the girls coming into the game this was going to be heavyweight fight. They are going to throw punches. We are going to throw punches,” Rodriguez said. “A credit to Dezi (Marmolejo). She pitched a hell of a game. She kept us off balance. There were times where I thought we could get something going, and she shut us down. But credit to the resiliency of this team. I think it was the fifth or sixth inning, and I was trying to give some instruction, and my catcher Audrey (Escamilla) said, ‘Don’t worry coach, we got this.’”
And that’s exactly what happened.
In the top of the sixth inning, Escamilla turned a full count into a walk. She then moved to second base on a sacrifice bunt by Lauren DeAnda. Gabby Rivera followed with a groundout to third.
That put Trujillo at the plate, and she took a 1-1 fastball from Marmolejo and made it one of the few mistakes the Edinburg pitcher had all night.
“I remember seeing it go outside, and to me I think that would be my best pitch to hit,” Trujillo said. “So right when I saw it, I knew I was going to give it all I’ve got, because this is for my team.”
She smacked the ball to right-center field and it rolled to the fence. That allowed Escamilla to score easily from second, giving the game its final score. Edinburg could not hit Sada in the sixth or the seventh.
For Edinburg and first-year coach Ramon Arciba, Friday’s game was a tough loss. Much was expected from the team that swept through district undefeated and at one time was ranked in the state’s top five.
Marmolejo gave up just five hits in seven innings and struck out four, and the defense played nearly flawless. Arciba said while he’s sad the team lost, the Bobcats still have plenty to build on for next year. He credited the Lady Panthers for their success.
“Today we made some adjustments, and for the most part they worked. We just could not get the key hit when we needed it,” Arciba said. “This was one of the best seasons they ever had. It’s hard to take. It’s hard to swallow this loss. But I am very proud of the girls of the fight they put up tonight. And not only that, but all the strides they made during the season. They did all we asked of them. What else could I ask for?”