BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
The Weslaco High Panthers once again proved that they would be a force to be reckoned with based on their performance through the non-district part of their schedule. The Panthers won the Mission Fastpitch Festival and made the trek to Central Texas to win the Seguin Softball Tournament in convincing fashion.
Their dominance continued into district play, as they won their first four games and shared first place in District 32-6A with Harlingen South. Since then, the Panthers (21-4-1, 5-2) have lost two of their last three games, falling to Harlingen South and San Benito.
“You can’t take anything away from those two softball teams (Harlingen South and San Benito), who are playing very well,” Weslaco High coach Mario Rodriguez said. “We had our opportunities in those games, but we just didn’t capitalize with timely hits.”
The Panthers ended their two-game losing skid by defeating scrappy Los Fresnos 5-2 on Tuesday.
“Their record does not indicate the kind of team Los Fresnos is,” Rodriguez said. “I think their pitcher kept the ball down against us. It was just a matter of staying with it and executing when it mattered. We were able to string some hits together and get some runners in.”
The Panthers offense remains an area where Rodriguez would like to see improvement.
“It’s something that we need to keep working on,” Rodriguez said. “Hitting is contagious, so if we can get a couple girls hitting in timely spots, then I think the other girls will come through. We may have lost those two games, but we still have seven district games to go. We can’t dwell on the past. We have to focus on the future.”