BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
EDINBURG — In Game 1, Edinburg High had an opportunity to make a statement on their field, on their terms, and they took full advantage.
The Bobcats rocked the Weslaco East Wildcats early and often thanks to a five-run first inning followed by a six-run second inning. EHS was satisfied with a 12-1 result in five innings on Thursday and a 1-0 bi-district series lead.
“Coach (Ramon) Arciba has always stressed to us as a team that we couldn’t let them come in here and take over,” Edinburg High left fielder Katie Truitt said. “We had to stand our ground. Because this is the first game, we had to be strong. We want to go far in the playoffs. We needed to set the tone.”
“It’s a brand-new season,” Arciba said. “We’re one of a few teams that are blessed to have a chance to extend our season and try to make a run deep into the playoffs. The girls came out with a lot of fire and a lot of heart.”
Edinburg High (26-6) spoiled the outing for Weslaco East pitcher Amanda Aguirre. Ten batters came to the plate in the first, with the scoring capped by two-run double from right fielder Celeste Treviño.
Truitt, who entered the postseason with a team-high nine home runs, stepped into the box and busted the game wide open by hitting a three-run bomb over the fence in left-center field to make the score 8-0 in the second. She continues to rip the cover off the ball of late. Thursday night’s dinger was Truitt’s sixth in the Bobcats’ last four games.
“You can feel it if you’re in the zone whenever you go up to bat,” Truitt said. “I’m concentrated, and I’m trying to find a good pitch to hit. I never go up with the mentality that I’m going to hit a home run. I’m looking to get a solid base hit. Home runs will come when they come.”
The Bobcats and Wildcats were meeting for the first time this season, which meant the Edinburg High offense were tasked with scoring runs off of Aguirre, a left-hander. EHS hasn’t had much experience hitting lefties, so Arciba and assistant coach Noe Cantu had to get creative with preparing for a southpaw earlier in the week.
“Coach Cantu and I threw left-handed at the girls, even though neither of us are left-handed,” Arciba said. “It was a little awkward for us to be throwing lefty, but it really helped our girls. Since throwing left-handed was awkward for us, our practice pitches had some natural spin to them, as well.
“We felt really good about the contact they were making on our pitches in practice. They weren’t striking out, so we decided to go lefty all week.”
The first two innings were good to Edinburg High pitcher Erika Cortez, as well. She struck out the first six batters she faced and ended the game with 10 punchouts, giving up two hits, two walks and an unearned run.
“When I go after batters in the playoffs, I go hard, and I have to win,” Cortez said. “I see a new batter like another game every time. New batter, new inning, new everything. I’ve got to get them out.”
Weslaco East (18-12-2) coach Victoria Vasquez faced the tall order of putting together a game plan against one of the Valley’s top pitchers in her first playoff game as a varsity head coach.
“We didn’t really have anything on her (Cortez) as far as which kinds of pitches she favors,” Vasquez said. “Now we have film, and we can go back and review that. I’m not taking anything away from her, because she’s a good pitcher. We have to make adjustments in the next couple days.”
The Wildcats will host the Bobcats for Game 2 in Weslaco at 7 tonight.