BY NATE KOTISSO | STAFF WRITER
MERCEDES — Over the past few seasons, Brownsville Veterans has had one of the top pitching staffs in the Valley.
The tandem of Cassie Valdez and Mia Anzaldua helped the Chargers win district titles and make playoff appearances. With Valdez signing with UTSA before transferring to Texas State after the fall 2018 semester, Anzaldua became Brownsville Veterans’ ace in her senior season and hasn’t disappointed.
The lefthanded-throwing Anzaldua dominated Mercedes in and out of the circle on Friday. She struck out 11 Tigers in a five-inning no-hitter and drove in four runs in Brownsville Veterans’ 11-0 victory at Betty C. Morrell Softball Field.
“She was spot-on today,” Brownsville Veterans coach Rayner Cardenas said of Anzaldua. “She was extremely focused after Tuesday’s game against Donna (High). She was very quiet and focused at practice this week. The performance that she put up today is an example of all the hard work she puts in. Mercedes is a great team and a program we respect. It took a great effort from her and our offense to come out victorious tonight.”
Anzaldua pitched in the Chargers’ last three district games against Mercedes. Brownsville Veterans won all three of Anzaldua’s starts.
“The feeling that you’re going to have a good game starts early in the day,” Anzaldua said. “It’s how you prepare yourself for that specific game. They’re a good ball club. You have to come out there and do what you can for your team.”
Anzaldua brought home Brownsville Veterans’ first two runs of the game on a sacrifice fly in the first inning and an RBI single in the third. The bottom began to fall out for Mercedes, who allowed nine runs in the fourth and fifth innings combined.
The Chargers got to Tiger starter Mika Vento in the fourth. With the bases loaded and two outs, Vento dropped a popup that should have ended the inning. Instead, Jocelyn Head and Valeria Ruiz came home to score to push the Brownsville Veterans (14-6-1, 3-0) lead to 4-0. The next batter was Anzaldua, who penciled in her third and fourth runs batted in on a single.
Kassidie Rodriguez relieved Vento in the fifth. Rodriguez started off strong, retiring the first two Chargers hitters, but the top of the Brownsville Veterans lineup kept the inning alive.
Sophomore leadoff hitter Mariangel Barbosa drove in a run with a single and catcher Natelie Mendoza followed Barbosa with a two-run triple to make it 9-0. Barbosa reached base four times on Friday.
“Mariangel was a JV kid last year and our catcher (Mendoza) is a freshman,” Cardenas said. “There are a lot of new parts in new places, just like Mercedes does. These kids work hard at practice. Their demeanor is great and they’re very respectful. I’m happy for everything they do to wash the pressure away and perform.”
Mercedes (11-8-1, 2-1) committed three of its six errors in the fifth inning.
“That’s just not us,” Mercedes coach Kristy Leal said. “It was something that was out of the ordinary for our team. At the end of the day, we needed someone to step in and stop the bleeding. It didn’t happen for us tonight. We didn’t show up.”