BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
ELSA — The two unquestioned leaders of Edcouch-Elsa’s 2017 season were Allyson Rodriguez and Jozlyn Lara. Rodriguez was the team’s leader in batting average (.494), home runs (five) and runs batted in (38), while Lara anchored the starting rotation thanks to a 12-5 record and a 2.18 earned run average.
With Rodriguez and Lara’s help, E-E cracked into the area round of the playoffs for the first time under then-second year coach Ruth Flores. But Rodriguez and Lara have graduated, appearing to leave Edcouch-Elsa in rebuilding mode as Brownsville Veterans and Mercedes, the best of District 32-5A, refueled.
Six freshmen, including pitcher Ocean Gomez and catcher Sara Sumbillo, injected new life and balance to a roster with five returning seniors. The growing pains were felt early in the season, but Edcouch-Elsa came together to earn the No. 3 seed in District 32-5A.
“It was kind of difficult, because everybody was learning to play with each other,” Sumbillo said. “The upperclassmen already jelled and knew how to play together. We (the freshmen) were mostly new. It took some time.”
Mostly new teammates and an unforgiving non-district schedule made for a rugged February. The Jackets finished their non-district schedule 7-8, including matchups with fellow playoff teams in Port Isabel and Weslaco High along with outright district champions like Rio Hondo, La Joya High and San Benito twice.
“Everything is so much faster, and I saw that in the first varsity game I played in,” left fielder Kailey Gonzalez, who leads E-E with 21 runs batted in, said. “You have to refresh your mind and learn a brand-new perspective of the game.”
Maturity from seniors like Jackie Alvarado and Samantha Montelongo was key to the freshmen acclimating to varsity softball.
“We’re playing much better now than earlier in the year, because of the seniors,” Gomez said. “We were kind of separate and playing for ourselves in the beginning, but now we’re playing as a team.”
“They helped motivate us to become the best players that we can be,” Sumbillo said. “We want to make their last year worthwhile.”
Sumbillo and Gomez are far from first-time teammates. They’ve played on the same team since they were 7 years old, from parent-coached teams to travel ball with the RGV Force.
“We’re so used to each other that it takes a lot of the pressure off of being freshmen and starters,” Sumbillo said. “We’re really comfortable. It feels like we aren’t playing varsity. It’s like we’re playing when we were younger.”
Having Sumbillo behind the plate greatly benefitted Gomez, who is one of two freshman pitchers in the Jackets rotation, along with Aaliyah Cerda. Gomez has allowed 38 runs in 107 innings, but only one of those 38 runs was earned, giving Gomez a microscopic ERA of 0.07 to go with her 7-3 record.
“We have a great advantage playing together for all these years,” Gomez said. “She knows how to call a great game. We’ve been playing for so long it feels like we’re like sisters. Wherever we go, we play our hearts out and play together, me and her.”
While Gomez took over Lara’s role atop the rotation, Sumbillo filled in Rodriguez’s spot as the most consistent bat in the E-E lineup. She is the team leader in batting average (.370) and doubles (11) and is second on the club with 19 runs batted in.
“The consistency came with training and focusing on the ball at the plate,” Sumbillo said. “It also came from my coaches, who have taught me how to hit certain pitches and how to hit for contact and not trying to hit home runs all the time.”
The Yellowjackets (16-13) shook off early rust to clinch the No. 3 seed in District 32-5A for the second year in a row. Edcouch-Elsa won the last two games of its bi-district series against Rio Grande City during the 2017 postseason but will have a tougher test this time around. E-E will meet the Sharyland Pioneer Diamondbacks, who earned a share of a district championship for the third time in four seasons.
The series will include Game 1 at 7 p.m. Thursday, Game 2 at 7 p.m. Friday and a possible winner-take-all Game 3 at 5 p.m. Saturday. All games will take place at PSJA North.
“We need to play like we’ve played lately — together,” Gomez said. “We have a great defense that keeps us in the game, and the hitting needs to be there so we can win. Our team game has to be together, and I know it will.”