KEVIN NARRO | Staff Writer
With just three games remaining in District 32-6A, the playoff race has shaken up after Brownsville Hanna clinched a playoff berth with a 9-6 win over Harlingen High on Tuesday night.
Hanna is back in the postseason for the first time in six years and is currently 4-3 in district play.
While their playoff ticket is punched, Hanna will now face the toughest part of their schedule, starting Friday when it hosts San Benito.
The Lady Eagles will then wrap up their regular season with Los Fresnos then Harlingen South.
“We are excited to be back in the playoffs,” Hanna coach Greg Larson. “Our goal has been to get better each day. The kids have worked hard all year and competed in a tough district. Going into our game against Harlingen, we stressed how important is was to get the win with a tough schedule coming up. But now that we clinched, it is comforting for us to know we made it and we will see where we fall and go from there.”
Against Harlingen, Hanna used a seven-run fourth inning to erase a 4-0 deficit. The big inning was highlighted by a Brianna Martinez grand slam. Martinez finished with a strong night at the plate, going 3-for-4. Along with Martinez was teammate Tabby Fernadez, who also went yard in the win. In the circle, Diana Guerrero was tabbed with the win.
LOS FRESNOS STAYS HOT
After last week’s upset win over Harlingen South, Los Fresnos kept the train rolling with a 17-0 win over Brownsville Rivera. The Lady Falcons completed the season sweep and are now 5-2 and tied for second place in 32-6A with the Lady Hawks.
With just three games remaining, the Lady Falcons are beginning to click and are in the hunt for a district title.
Los Fresnos will meet Hanna on Friday, followed by Harlingen then, if the stars align, the Lady Falcons will have a shot for a share of the district title in the regular season finale against San Benito.
Los Fresnos’ offense continues to rake at the plate. Last week against San Benito, Aileen Avelar hit two homers and set a new club record with 33 in a season. That record continues to be shattered.
On Tuesday, the Lady Falcons belted four more homers off the bats of Ashley Muniz and Reba Reyes. Reyes clubbed three of the four home runs, increasing her total to a team-high 15 dingers. Right behind Reyes is Avelar with eight, Vicky Perales with six and Sam Campos, Muniz and Valerie Guevara, who all have two on the year.
Sticking with power, Los Fresnos, Harlingen South and San Benito all have sluggers of their own and it is coming from the strong freshmen core of players.
South’s Iliana Saucedo has homered in four straight games and twice against San Benito. The freshman has 10 homers on the year.
San Benito meanwhile has sophomore Jordan Ramos and freshman Jaelynn Huerta, who have turned into a strong 1-2 punch in the heart of the Lady Greyhounds order.
DISTRICT 32-4A
Rio Hondo will be looking for their sixth straight district title when they travel to Port Isabel on Friday.
The Lady Bobcats will need to win one of their final three games in order to clinch the league crown. Port Isabel and Zapata are tied for second with 9-2 records.
Zapata picked up a 3-0 over the Lady Tarpons on Tuesday and own the head-to-head until the two meet again next week. The two teams have already clinched a playoff berth, so it is now a matter of seeding.
Both Raymondville and La Feria will be battling for the fourth spot with three games to go. The two will meet on Friday.
The Lady Bearkats are currently in the driver seat with a 6-5 record, while La Feria is 5-6 on the outside looking in. A La Feria loss would eliminate them from post season contention, while a win would send Raymondville to the playoffs.
LYFORD STAYS PERFECT
Lyford improved their perfect season to 27-0 with a 23-0 win over Santa Rosa Tuesday night. The Lady Bulldogs have three games remaining against Monte Alto, Idea Quest and Santa Rosa.
Against the Lady Warriors, Lyford plated nine runs in the first inning and 14 runs in the second inning.
Both Jessica Cruz and Jerrica Rojas paced the offense with three hits each. Cruz drove in four runs while Alyssa Garcia and Rojas also collected three RBI’s each.
In the circle, Miranda Wetegrove threw all three innings while striking out seven and didn’t give up a hit.
LADY CHARGER CONTINUE TO ROLL
Brownsville Veterans Memorial continued to play well to the tune of an 18-2 win over Valley View.
The Lady Chargers are now 11-0 in district play and remain in control of winning the district 32-5A title.
Against Valley View, BVM used a five-run first inning and scored a run in the second and fourth inning. The offense came to life in the sixth inning with an 11-run frame.
Mia Alzandua, Mariangel Barbosa, Natalie Mendoza and Natasha Ruiz all collected three hits in the win. Mendoza also hit a homer in the win, while Alzandua drove in a team-high four runs. The offense finished with 18 runs on 17 hits.
Up next is a road game at Brownsville Porter on Friday, followed by matchups against Brownsville Lopez and Edcouch-Elsa.